Work going swimmingly at London 2012 Aquatics Centre
Not shy of a challenge, workers on the Olympic Park are currently lifting the 2,800-tonne wave-shaped roof of the London 2012 Aquatics Centre in a move that the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) calls "one of the most complex engineering and construction challenges of the Olympic Park big build".
Indeed, people in engineering jobs on the project are working with others to lift the steel into place, which will form the 11,000 sq m, 160 m-long roof which has toured the UK. It was fabricated in Newport and rolled in Scunthorpe, Motherwell and Gateshead.
The Aquatics Centre will mark the gateway to the park and will provide community facilities including a diving pool and two 50 m swimming pools.
And when completed, the roof will rest on two concrete supports and a supporting wall 28 m long and 5 m wide. You may be interested to hear that the roof has been designed, through computer modelling and wind tunnel testing, to contract, twist and stretch in response to changing temperatures and the effects of wind and snow.
Speaking about his organisation’s progression and the success of the workforce, David Higgins, chief executive of the ODA, comments: "The lift of the sweeping wave-shaped roof is one of the toughest construction and engineering challenges on the Olympic Park and will showcase the world class expertise involved in delivering the venues and infrastructure for London 2012.
"Different parts of the country are playing a part with the structure being built in London but made in Scotland, Wales and the north of England," he says.
In another ODA update, Buckingham Group Contracting was recently awarded the contract to build the London 2012 Handball Arena.
Written by Rachel Watson.
Filed under: Innovations and 2012
