The Olympics are nearly here – I’ve had a look at the stadium design

While the stadium doesn’t have the same iconic look as the Beijing “Bird’s Nest” stadium, it has a number of interesting features. One is that it is a very green building – I haven’t been able to find out how green, but one reference says “Most, if not all, of the structure was made with recycled materials like rejected plastic crates and excess concrete from other areas of the park”

The architect Peter Cook has also designed the stadium so that after the games the top sections can be removed, reducing the capacity from 80,000 to 25,000. The stadium has been shortlisted today for the Stirling Prize – the RIBA’s annual architecture prize. The full shortlist can be seen at http://ribastirlingprize.architecture.com/. The Guardian’s comments are at http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/jul/22/riba-stirling-prize-shortlist-2012-revealed


More info about the stadium:


http://populous.com/project/london-2012/

http://www.artlog.com/2012/34-olympic-architecture-beijing-vs-london#.UAx1nGGe4oI

http://www.olympicgames2012london.org/londonolympicstadiumuniquedesign.html

http://www.designcruzer.com/london-olympics-stadium-olympics-games-2012/