Heatherwick Studio designed the ‘Velopark’ in London, United Kingdom.
Description from the architects:
The team of Heatherwick Studio with Faulkner Browns was shortlisted to the final stage of the competition to design the Velopark for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Velopark includes five principle cycling disciplines: indoor track cycling, outdoor road cycling, BMX, mountain biking, and cycle speedway.
The Velodrome is one of the three biggest stadia on the Olympic site and where the indoor track cycling events are held. In “legacy mode”, post games, the running costs and flexibility to stage other events or concerts needs an adaptable solution that can be scaled back. The budget was tight at £1750 per sqm.
Typically velodromes have little outward expression of the sporting event they house and tend to feel like little more than large industrial sheds. Our solution uses the shape of the race-track as both the organizing device for the circulation and draws on its energy and sculptural qualities as the springing point and inspiration for the building that surrounds it. The resulting Velodrome is a continuation of the timber staves of the race-track, spun upwards to form the building envelope and pulled apart in places, framing apertures for light and ventilation.
The building was designed to minimise ground works by limiting wet trades to the ground slab; maximise speed of erection using a steel frame super-structure, which can be modified post-games; and the sequestration of carbon through the use of timber.
| Firms | Heatherwick Studio |
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| Project Architect | Heatherwick Studio |
| Rendering | Heatherwick Studio |
