Home to the stirring opening ceremonies, the Olympic Stadium seats 80,000, but it is designed to transform as needed down to a smaller capacity venue after the Games, thanks to 55,000 lightweight, removable steel seats....[More]
OLYMPIC STADIUM:
Home to the stirring opening ceremonies, the Olympic Stadium seats 80,000, but it is designed to transform as needed down to a smaller capacity venue after the Games, thanks to 55,000 lightweight, removable steel seats. On the list for the Royal Institute of British Architects' 2012 RIBA Stirling Prize for its architecture, the stadium contains more than 9,000 metric tons of steel, which is still lighter than other stadiums of the same size. Its 14 lighting towers provide the necessary illumination for the first Olympics broadcast in HD.
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LOCOG/London Media Centre
THE VELODROME:
Headquarters for the London Games' indoor cycling events, the structure is affectionately called the "Pringle" for its potato chip–like shape....[More]
THE VELODROME:
Headquarters for the London Games' indoor cycling events, the structure is affectionately called the "Pringle" for its potato chip–like shape. More than 300,000 nails lock down the wooden cycling track. The winner of the 2012 Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence given by the Institution of Structural Engineers, the Velodrome features a curvature that is intended to allow natural ventilation and heat control. Its lightweight cable net roof—made from 17 kilometers of steel webbing—weighs less than half that of any other covered velodrome in the world.
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LOCOG/London Media Centre
UP AT THE 02:
For $35, visitors to London's signature arena can walk over the facility's spire-studded dome. It is a 90-minute trek, heading skyward to the Up's 360-degree viewing platform before descending back to earth....[More]
UP AT THE 02:
For $35, visitors to London's signature arena can walk over the facility's spire-studded dome. It is a 90-minute trek, heading skyward to the Up's 360-degree viewing platform before descending back to earth. To save weight atop the dome, the walkway is made of high-tension fabric up to the central platform.
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LOCOG/London Media Centre
ARCELORMITTAL ORBIT:
Meant to offer bird’s-eye views of the entire Olympic Park, this 115-meter-high tower cost around $30 million. The winding helix structure bears the name of Lakshmi Mittal because the steel tycoon shelled out $25 million of that total....[More]
ARCELORMITTAL ORBIT:
Meant to offer bird’s-eye views of the entire Olympic Park, this 115-meter-high tower cost around $30 million. The winding helix structure bears the name of Lakshmi Mittal because the steel tycoon shelled out $25 million of that total. Its corporate owners, the Olympic Park Legacy Co., call it the country's "largest piece of public art."
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LOCOG/London Media Centre
EMIRATES AIR LINE:
This cable car, which runs passengers across the Thames near the Royal Docks, uses a mono-cable detachable gondola (a system allowing the car to detach from the carrying cable to allow more loading time)....[More]
EMIRATES AIR LINE:
This cable car, which runs passengers across the Thames near the Royal Docks, uses a mono-cable detachable gondola (a system allowing the car to detach from the carrying cable to allow more loading time). Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects of London, the electric-powered gondola hangs 90 meters above the churning water at its highest point. According to LOCOG, a crossing occurs every 15 seconds and the system can carry "more than 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction." That's 50 smog-coughing buses' worth without burning any fossil fuel car to car.
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LOCOG/London Media Centre
THE SHARD:
The tallest edifice in Europe, the 95-story office and commercial glass tower wrapped up its construction in April of this year and opened for the public three weeks before the 2012 Opening Ceremonies....[More]
THE SHARD:
The tallest edifice in Europe, the 95-story office and commercial glass tower wrapped up its construction in April of this year and opened for the public three weeks before the 2012 Opening Ceremonies. Packing 72 inhabitable floors with an enclosed viewing gallery and an open-air observation deck offering a 65-kilometer panoramic view of London, the Shard dominates the city skyline. An elevator brings visitors 245 meters up the structure in 30 seconds. A 65-meter spire tops the lofty building.
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LOCOG/London Media Centre
WEYMOUTH SEA LIFE TOWER:
Located on England's southwestern coast, Weymouth is the host for all Olympic sailing events this summer. According to the Dorset Media Center, about $390 million went into the region over the last seven years to prepare for the Games, and the Weymouth SEA LIFE Tower is the centerpiece....[More]
WEYMOUTH SEA LIFE TOWER:
Located on England's southwestern coast, Weymouth is the host for all Olympic sailing events this summer. According to the Dorset Media Center, about $390 million went into the region over the last seven years to prepare for the Games, and the Weymouth SEA LIFE Tower is the centerpiece. The tower is a 50-meter-high elevating and rotating observation ride. A round passenger platform rises along a central platform and slowly spins, offering 360-degree views of Weymouth Quay and the surrounding resort. After the spinnakers move to other waters following the Olympics, the tower will remain a resort tourist attraction.
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LOCOG/London Media Centre
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
The London Olympic Park is worth featuring as well - the planting design by Nigel Dunnett, James Hitchmough and others is not just beautiful and environmentally friendly but based on their years of work developing new interpretations of grasslands and 'prairie' planting. http://www.nigeldunnett.info/Londonolympicpark/
Having been lucky enough to get a ticket to go and see Michael Phelps win medal 19 (or was it 20?) I can say that the photograph used to illustrate the article is of the swimming venue (with removable seating on either sides) and not the volleyball one.
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Add CommentThe London Olympic Park is worth featuring as well - the planting design by Nigel Dunnett, James Hitchmough and others is not just beautiful and environmentally friendly but based on their years of work developing new interpretations of grasslands and 'prairie' planting.
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Having been lucky enough to get a ticket to go and see Michael Phelps win medal 19 (or was it 20?) I can say that the photograph used to illustrate the article is of the swimming venue (with removable seating on either sides) and not the volleyball one.
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