The ‘big build’ of the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) and Main Press Centre (MPC) is on track as plans were approved by the Olympic Park Planning Committee last night.
Under an earlier approval work on the foundations is already well underway, with piling now 90 per cent complete, and the buildings will start coming out of the ground shortly.
The IBC/MPC will support 20,000 broadcasters, photographers and journalists communicating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to an audience of approximately four billion people worldwide. In legacy the facilities will create just under 900,000 square feet of business space with the potential to generate thousands of new jobs.
Local people and other stakeholders have been consulted throughout the planning process and as planned the detailed design of the external appearance of the IBC/MPC has been developed through the application stages.
Design refinements developed with stakeholders include:
- New cladding design and detailing for the 29,000 sq m MPC office block with more colour utilised, an emphasised legacy entrance and the building visually broken up into sections.
- New chequerboard cladding design for the 60,000 sq m IBC studios and smaller sections of screening over the gantry that runs alongside the building to break up the scale of the building visually.
- New cladding design for the permanent section of the media transport mall which remains in legacy.
Olympic Delivery Authority Chief Executive David Higgins said: 'The "big build" of the IBC/MPC is right on track. The foundations are progressing at pace with over 90 per cent of the piling complete and following this important milestone buildings will start to come out of the ground.
'The IBC/MPC will provide a quality working environment for media during the Games while delivering flexible employment space for a range of potential legacy tenants and users.'
Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: 'This decision marks a significant step towards the provision of the best possible working environment and technology for the 20,000 members of the world’s broadcasters, press and photographers in the summer of 2012. Millions of people around the world rely on the international media to relay the stories of human endeavour on the field of play. The impressive facilities we have planned will give us the best possible foundations for telling all the stories from the London 2012 Games whilst leaving high performance workspace for the east of London.'
Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said: 'With just over three years to go the big build is well and truly underway. The media centre will provide state-of-the-art facilities for thousands of press when they come to London in 2012 and help to relay the excitement around the world. After the Games the IBC/MP can then be modified for use by businesses and has the potential to be the beating heart of London's growing digital economy.'
Elected Mayor of Hackney Jules Pipe said: 'We are pleased improvements have been made to the design of the IBC which enables the building to be more flexible for its legacy use. We welcome the ongoing commitment to refining the MPC design and finish to ensure a building of quality that can become the home for creative industries in legacy.
'We must now ensure the employment legacy vital to Hackney and East London is achieved and we will continue to work closely with our partners to secure this for our residents.'
‘big build’: IBC/MPC
Work started a month early in April on the foundations of the IBC/MPC, which already had planning approval. Over 2200 concrete piles, 90 per cent of the total planned, have already been sunk up to 24m into the ground. In the coming weeks work will start on the 275m long, 104m wide, 21m tall steel frame of the huge IBC studio building, which is big enough to house five jumbo jets. Over 4,500 tonnes of steel with up to 24m long plate girders are being produced and fabricated for the IBC in Dalton, North Yorkshire.
The IBC/MPC combines an innovative mixture of permanent and temporary elements during the Games and has been designed to be as flexible as possible to accommodate a range of potential legacy tenants and uses. The London Development Agency (LDA) has been leading the legacy planning and this work will be taken forward by the new Olympic Park Legacy Company which will begin operating fully later this year.
Construction is underway on the foundations of the IBC, MPC and media transport mall on the 370,000 sq m site.
The MPC includes:
- 29,000 square metres of sustainable office space by the River Lea Navigation, providing four storeys of workspace for journalists and photographers during the Games.
- Innovatively designed flexibility that enables the building to be adapted in legacy for either a single tenant in the whole building or on each floor, as well as multiple tenants on each floor.
- A connected single strip of single storey buildings facing the canal that can be separated into ‘mews’ accommodation in legacy offering another type of quality business space in legacy.
- State-of-the-art utilities, power and digital connectivity during the Games and in legacy.
- innovations designed to meet demanding sustainable building standards in legacy including a 2,500 square metres ‘brown roof’ of gravel and moss to encourage invertebrates; 60 per cent of non-drinking water to be collected from across the Olympic Park; habitats including over 100 bird and bat boxes.
The IBC includes:
- Around 52,000 square metres of studio space of two 8-10m high floors during the Games with a temporary gantry running along the building for technical equipment.
- 8000 square metres of offices over five floors at the front of the building.
- The flexibility in legacy to be separated into a number of units and for design features to be altered such as cladding replaced with windows.
Temporary Games time elements, most of which reduce the Games and legacy transformation costs, include:
- A 12,000 sq m catering village serving 50,000 meals a day 24 hours.
- A 200m long High Street between the MPC and IBC featuring outlets such as banks, newsagents, travel agents and a post office.
- A temporary Media Conference room between the IBC and MPC for up to 800 journalists.
A Media Transport Mall providing coach drop-off and car parking, accreditation and security screening during the Games will be halved in legacy to provide car parking spaces to legacy tenants alongside walking, cycling and public transport connections.
In February, the LDA and London 2012 partners released draft outline legacy plans for the park - called the Legacy Masterplan Framework (LMF). These are currently being assessed by the new Olympic Park Legacy Company following a consultation earlier this year. The Company will take over from and build on the solid foundation of the legacy work currently being taken forward by the LDA which has been developing plans since London's successful bid to host the Games.
The LMF is part of a wider regeneration strategy for the area which also takes into account social and economic regeneration for the areas surrounding the Olympic Park. For more information about the consultation visit www.legacynow.co.uk
Peter Rogers, Chief Executive of the London Development Agency, said: 'This is another step in the media centre site becoming a major employment driver in legacy with a main focus on the creative industries.
'The design refinements along with the structural enhancements to be made after the Games will provide greater flexibility in splitting the building into different configurations for legacy tenants. We are delighted to have reached this milestone and look forward to a smooth transition of the project over to the Olympic Park Legacy Company.'
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Related contacts
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London 2012
One Churchill Place
Canary Wharf
London E14 5LN
Tel: 020 3 2012 000 |
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Source: London 2012 Website - 24/06/2009 |
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