Media Center to Revitalize London Neighborhood
The Olympic Delivery Authority confirms that Carillion and Igloo will build the International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre for London 2012 and deliver its legacy development. The IBC/MPC contract is the third largest for the 2012 Games after the athletes' village and the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium. (LOCOG)
The British consortium will transform the 1.3 million square feet media hub into mixed-use office and business space after the Games, larger than London's Canary Wharf tower, providing a legacy of over 8,000 new jobs in Hackney.
The contract award comes in the wake of concerns that Carillion and Igloo were struggling to raise their slice of finance for the $600 million project because of the economic downturn.
They were expected to contribute up to half the cost of the venue.
The ODA says the IBC/MPC site has been cleared and expects planning permission and final designs to be agreed later this year.
This will trigger the private sector finance for the scheme to be in place ready to start construction next spring as planned, the ODA says.
The details of this significant private and public sector investment for Hackney will be given when planning permission has been secured.
"Carillion Igloo will bring a combined construction and regeneration excellence to create the media hub to transmit the London 2012 Games across the world but also to transform the venue into a vibrant and sustainable employment space in legacy," says ODA chief executive David Higgins.
At Games-time, the broadcast and press center will house 20,000 journalists, broadcasters and photographers. The design includes a two-storey 75,000 square meter IBC and four-storey 45,000 square meter MPC.
The facilities will utilize the latest wind and solar power generation technology and will feature high-streets, studios, offices and a range of innovative temporary features, all staffed by a 1,000 strong workforce.
Post-2012, the new facilities will include around 120,000 square meters of employment space.
The new neighborhood is being designed to deliver a vibrant new media/digital and creative industries quarter for London with studio space, high spec commercial offices, studio lofts, street cafes, shops, canal-side walkways and bike paths.
The overall master plan and detailed uses and designs will be finalized in tandem with the London Development Agency's consultation on the Legacy Masterplan Framework plans for developing the Olympic Park legacy.
ODA to Publish New Targets
The Olympic Delivery Authority will on Thursday give an update on its "demolish, dig, design" program and set out its ambitious targets for the next year.
Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, London 2012 chair Sebastian Coe and ODA chair John Armitt are expected to say that the 10 milestones are being achieved on schedule, in time for the start of next month's Games.
At the media event in the Olympic Park, they will also explain what The ODA says it has made good progress in clearing and cleaning the Olympic Park in east London since the site was handed over by the London Development Agency last July. (Getty Images)they hope to achieve in the next 12 months as building work accelerates on venues and infrastructure for the Games.
Construction is already underway on the 80,000-seat main stadium as well as the Olympic Village. Work on the Zaha Hadid-designed aquatics center is scheduled to begin later this month.
Construction of two other major venues within the Olympic Park – the VeloPark and the broadcast and press center – will start next spring.
The development of the 2.5 square kilometer Olympic Park is one of the largest construction and engineering projects in Europe. The ODA is charged with delivering a project twice the size of Heathrow Terminal Five in half the time. Terminal Five took six years to build.
New-Look Website
London 2012 will next week unveil a revamp of its website as part of efforts to grow enthusiasm for the Olympics particularly among the younger generation.
New interactive elements are being added to the website to encourage greater engagement with the 2012 project.
Visitors to the site will gain a much clearer picture of the progress being made on every facility for the Games by clicking on individual venue links to reveal construction plans and details of sports on the Olympic program. There will also be links through to the international sports federations' websites.
The revamp is timed to coincide with the start of next month's Olympics and the increased attention on London 2012's preparations that will come post-Beijing.
Canoe Course Designs Unveiled
The designs for the White Water Canoe Center for the London Olympics are published to mark the start of the planning application process. The Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre will be built on what is currently the overflow car park for the Showground site of the River Lee Country Park. (LOCOG)
The White Water Canoe Centre will be built in Broxbourne, north London, for the canoe and kayak slalom events during the Olympics.
After the Games, the venue will be turned into a sporting and leisure facility for canoeing and white-water rafting, as well as a major competition venue for elite events.
The planning application includes details for the 300m canoe / kayak slalom course, new parklands designed by landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and facilities for athletes and spectators designed by architects FaulknerBrowns.
The contract for construction companies to build the new facilities is currently out to tender and is expected to be awarded in early 2009. Work starts next spring and will be completed in 2010-11. During the Games, temporary seating will be installed around the venue for 12,000 spectators.
With reporting from Mark Bisson.
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