One of the largest and most significant urban regeneration projects ever undertaken in the UK, the creation of London’s Olympic Park provided a setting for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is now being followed by a unique legacy of new communities, improved public transport and a major 110-hectare urban park.
The success of the original 2003 masterplan, which secured London’s appointment for the 2012 Games over rivals Paris, New York and Madrid, was a future-looking framework rooted in the close integration of multiple social, environmental, transport, planning and design issues, into a clear and simple idea: build for a thriving piece of city in 2030+, not just one event in 2012. The power of this idea has resulted in a shift in event-urbanism, with legacy becoming the guiding principle for other global cities, from Rio to Tokyo.
Leading a multidisciplinary team for the masterplan AECOM’s role was extensive including planning, urban design, landscape planning and design, sports and venue design, project and cost management, transportation and planning, civil engineering, sustainability and climate resilience, sporting event security, crowd modelling and planning, market analysis, feasibility and project positioning.
With legacy embedded from the start – the long term, post Games use of the site considered from the beginning (even at bid stage we presented two plans – one for Games and one for legacy) what we now see at the Olympic Park, now Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP) is a thriving and growing community. A community which celebrates sports integrating it with the economic, cultural and social development of this important and now incredible part of the city. This includes over 9100 news homes, a retail centre, education facilities and a number of the Olympic venues, including the Velodrome and the Aquatics Centre and Copper Box, retained as assets for the local and wider community.