Current photo of the London Aquatics Center (Wikipedia).
This Saturday we’ll talk about the Olympic facility that was the scene of historic swimming feats. It is the London Aquatics Centre.
Official name: London Water Sports Centre.
location: Stratford, London, United Kingdom.
capacity: 17,500 spectators (2,500 after the 2012 London Games).
Opening year: 2012.
What is with you:London Heritage Development Company.
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This is the exterior with the “wings” where the grandstands are located (Wikipedia).
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Installation without stands (Wikipedia).
Other things: Among the unforgettable architectural jewels of the London 2012 Olympic Games, in addition to the Olympic Stadium, is the London Aquatics Centre, which hosted the swimming, diving and synchronized swimming competitions at that event.
Designed by architect Zaha Hadid for the London 2004 show, and restored in the 2012 project. Located near the Olympic Stadium, the building is 45 meters high, 160 meters long and 80 meters wide. The distinctive undulating roof area is 1,040 square metres.
The complex has a 50-meter competition pool, a 25-meter diving competition pool and a 50-meter warm-up pool. The pool is 50 meters deep and 3 meters deep, like the one at the National Aquatic Center in Beijing, to ensure its speed. The bottom can be moved to reduce its depth and there are also movable arms that allow its size to be changed. For its part, the diving pool includes platforms at heights of 3, 5, 7.5 and 10 meters and three diving boards 3 meters long.
The “pavilions” where the spectator stands were located were not part of the original design, so they were added later and when the games were over, they were removed. During the Games, the center had a capacity of 17,500 people. The two temporary pavilions were removed, reducing capacity to 2,800 fixed seats with an additional 1,000 seats available for major events.
It is a strange fact that the steel roof weighs 3,200 tons or that the three ponds contain about 10 million liters of water. As for sports, Michael Phelps here became the Olympic athlete with the most medals in history.
IOC President Jacques Rogge called it a “masterpiece” after the Games, and the pool was opened to the public on 1 March 2014. The center hosted the 2014 FINA/NVC Diving World Championships and the 2016 European Aquatics Championships.
I hope you liked the article. see you tomorrow.
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