Aquatics Centre fast facts
26 June 2009
- The Zaha Hadid designed Aquatics Centre is located in the south of the Olympic Park and will be the main ‘Gateway into the Games', hosting swimming, diving, synchronised swimming, water polo finals and the swimming discipline of the Modern Pentathlon
- The Aquatics Centre will have a capacity of 17500 during the Games, reducing to a maximum of 2500 in legacy, with the ability to add 1000 for major events, and provide two 50 m swimming pools, a diving pool and dry diving area - facilities London does not have at present
- Eleven industrial buildings have been demolished on the 55000 m2 site.
- Around 160000 tonnes of soil have been dug out on of what was one of the more challenging and complex areas of the Olympic Park, contaminated with pollutants including petrol, oil, tar, solvents and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead
- Four skeletons were discovered and removed from a prehistoric settlement discovered on the site of the Aquatic Centre.
- 140000 tonnes of clean soil has been brought from other areas of the Olympic Park to prepare for construction to start.
- Balfour Beatty is building the Aquatics Centre and huge land-bridge that forms the roof of the training pool and the main pedestrian access to the Olympic Park. Construction work will be complete in 2011 for test events ahead of the Games.
- The sweeping roof, which is 160 m long and 80 m at its widest point, is an innovative 2800 tonne steel structure with a striking and robust aluminium covering resting on three supports.
- 26 steel trusses are already in place with the roof starting to take shape in the skyline.
- The roof will be internally and externally clad with timber.
- The river that runs alongside the venue has been widened by 8 m by building 550 m of new river walls.
- The huge completed southern roof support is 9 m high, 28 m long, over 5 m wide, and used 850 m³ of concrete
- A 3000 tonne concrete ‘bridge' has been built spanning and protecting the tunnels, which have been dug to run powerlines beneath the site. The northwest roof support has been built on top of this base.
- Construction is complete on both the 18,5 m tall north east and north west roof supports.
- The foundations are complete for the huge landbridge that forms the main pedestrian entrance to the Olympic Park and the roof of the training pool in the Aquatics Centre and work is underway on all of the bridge supports.
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