The wave-shaped Aquatics Centre roof has been successfully lifted and lowered into place completing what was one of the most complex engineering and construction challenges of the Olympic Park ‘big build’.
The Aquatics Centre is on track to finish in summer 2011 ready for test events with the concrete dive pool also complete and work well underway on the two 50m competition and training pools.
The 160m long sweeping roof frame of the Zaha Hadid designed Aquatics Centre, weighing over 3000 tonnes and resting on just three concrete supports, will be the gateway to the Olympic Park. In legacy the venue will provide two 50m swimming pools, a diving pool and dry diving area for community and elite use.
The roof steel was fabricated in Newport from plate rolled in Gateshead, Motherwell and Scunthorpe, assembled on the Aquatics Centre site and connected together 20m off the ground on temporary supports. The completed roof frame was then carefully lifted over 1m at one end and lowered into its permanent position with the temporary supports removed.
ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: “The Aquatics Centre is on track for completion in mid-2011 and the sweeping roof that will form the ‘Gateway to the Games’ is now a fixture in the skyline alongside the Olympic Stadium. The Aquatics Centre will be a new landmark building for east London and will offer elite and community swimming and diving facilities in legacy.
“Across the programme we are on schedule and within budget. However, we are not complacent. Our toughest year is ahead of us as the workforce and activity on site reaches a peak.”
London 2012 Organising Committee Chairman Sebastian Coe said: “The Aquatics Centre is going to be a spectacular venue for the Games in 2012 and its unique roof will be a wonderful addition to the east London skyline. At Games-time, 17,500 excited spectators will be able to ‘raise the roof’ cheering on the swimmers, including our British medal hopefuls, and in legacy it will become a much-needed elite and community facility. We are making great progress – and are fully on track with this iconic gateway to the Olympic Park.”
Tessa Jowell, Olympic Minister, said: “The wave-shaped roof of the Aquatics Centre is an iconic feature of the Olympic Park and one which will inspire thousands of elite athletes and keep-fitters during the Games and beyond. The construction of the roof has drawn on the skills and expertise of businesses in England, Scotland and Wales and now with the difficult technical manoeuvre needed to lift the roof into place complete, this is another success in the Park’s development.”
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "Not only does the Aquatics Centre act as a benchmark for the amazing pace of delivery on the 2012 Games, but along with the Stadium, it also provides an early taste of the truly fantastic legacy that is already rising out of the Olympic Park."
British Swimming Chief Executive David Sparkes said: "The Aquatics Centre with its unique design will, I am sure, inspire all our athletes to work hard to not only compete in 2012 but to make the nation proud of the facility and athletes as they deliver medal winning performances. Bringing this magnificent building to life in 2012 will inspire Londoners to swim more and have great fun in the Aquatics Centre for years to come."
Andrew Altman, Chief Executive of the Olympic Park Legacy Company which is responsible for the long term planning, management and maintenance of the Olympic Park and venues after the Games, said: “The Aquatics Centre will be an iconic building and a thriving centre for community use in the Park after the Games. Its two 50m pools and a 25m diving pool will also offer elite swimmers a world class training facility.
“Its roof is set to become one of the most recognisable features of the Park.”
Raising the roof
In March 2009 the ‘big lift’ began of the 160m long and up to 90m wide roof which rests on two concrete supports at the northern end and a 28m long and 5m wide, supporting ‘wall’ at its southern end.
A huge 30m steel truss weighing over 70 tonnes was lifted into place on top of the southern wall and connected to ten steel trusses each made up of four sections which in total will span up to 120m to the two northern roof supports.
The steel trusses were fabricated in Newport from plate rolled in Gateshead, Motherwell and Scunthorpe, assembled on the Aquatics Centre site and connected together 20m off the ground on three rows of temporary support trestles.
Once the steel frame was complete it was lifted over a metre at its southern end, turning on rotating joints in the northern roof supports. The top of the temporary trestles was removed and the 160m long roof frame lowered on to its three permanent roof supports.
As the full weight of the roof rested on its supports is slid approximately 20cm into its joints on the southern wall. The roof has been designed to stretch, twist and contract in response to the effects of snow, wind and changing temperatures.
Temporary trestles, which have now all been removed, were taken out in phases to enable work to continue beneath the roof, including the digging out and concreting of the venue’s two 50 metre swimming pools and 25 metre diving pool.
Work will begin this autumn on the aluminium roof covering, half of which is recycled, and early next year installation will start on the timber cladding of the12,000 metre squared ceiling which will sweep outside to cover the northern roof supports. Red Lauro from sustainable sources has been selected as the ceiling timber that will combine the required level of durability and visual impact.
Work is well underway on the 250m and 45m wide land bridge that forms the main pedestrian entrance to the Games from the Stratford City development, spanning the Aquatics Centre and forming the roof of the training pool.
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