Local daily paper, The Evening Standard, has taken to covering the Olympic development in practically every issue, not surprising given the size and costs of the venture. There are also weighty expectations on the project to deliver benefits of “regeneration” to this part of town, which has some of the lowest socio-economic indices in the UK and suffered WWII bombings.

Yesterday’s article on on the Fish Island and Hackney Wick areas which border the Olympic park describes the ‘other side’ to this story – the existing wealth and culture of the localities. It describes the art community and existing architectural legacy which can be built on and enhanced with by the Olympic project.

The question is what future for the olympic fringes and this article suggests they should look to other examples of thriving artists quarters such as Shoreditch. The area sits between Victoria Park and the Olympic Village – see the maps in the Tower Hamlets Masterplan document

This particular part of the east end contains many historic buildings from past times when the area was the heart of industrial development, such as the Bryant & May Match factory pictured above, with the Docklands Financial District in the background. The factory was famous for the invention of the safety match and the first working girls strike, which Annie Besant helped promote, and is now converted into flats. The area was mainly served by canals, which are still green and beautiful as you can see in the photos in this blog, but not used for transport so much anymore.

Here are some photos of the area, taken late last year

Looking north up the canal running east of Hackney Wick

Fish Island Area August 2009

Canal around Fish Island and Hackney Wick August 2009

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Olympic 2012 Velodrome

It will be part of the Olympic Velopark containing track cycling for Para-Olympians and Olympians plus BMX cycling facilities. Situated at the north end of the site where the former Eastway circuit used to be, this building will have an unusual shape and a lot to live up to. Former Eastway track users have left a lot of skin on the site since 1975 when it was first built:

“Eastway is used, on a regular basis for Road Racing, Time Trials, Cyclo Cross, Mountain Bike Racing, B M X Racing, Duathlon events, Road Running, Cross Country Running, Roller Blade & Roller Skating and the occasional Sponsored ride. Sometimes if the winter weather is bad and we have enough snow, Cross Country Skiing is possible at the circuit.”

Having said that, a ‘temporary alternative’ for former Eastway circuit users has been provided at Hog Hill just off the A12 north east London (one of two alternatives, the other being Rammy Marsh in Enfield). There was a “bit of a wait” between the closure of the original circuit in 2006 and the opening of the “Redbridge Circuit“  in August of 2008. This is a boon for Redbridge Borough with the £4.5 million new facility and cyclists are taking to it and sharing the experience (see preview thanks JayCut!) although a bit unhappy to be charged for the pleasure.

And this is what the ODA says about the Legacy:

“The temporary seating for the BMX Circuit will be removed and the track reconfigured. A new mountain bike course and road cycle circuit will be added to create a VeloPark for the local community, sports clubs and elite athletes.

Outreach and sports development programmes will help ensure the new cycling ‘hub’ is suitable for all levels of ability. The facility will be owned, funded and run by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.”

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International Press Centre

International Press Centre

The venue has been designed for games time and legacy facilities. It will contain studio space and offices over 2 floors and these can be converted into smaller units after the Olympic events, in the hope that various media companies might set up some operations in East London longer term.

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“….is a social enterprise and community venue located on The Greenway adjacent to the Olympic Park. It was built using recycled shipping containers whose construction and installation was delivered by Urban Space Management.”

It is a great place to get a look out over the development site, take pix and visit the cafe. The infomation gives a good overview of the plans for the area, with maps and view-point descriptions, of where you can look out over the Aquatics Centre and Staduim.

You can get there from the greenway:090922_view-tube-directions

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These photos were taken on 15th November 2009, just four days after the completion of the framework for the 160m sweeping roof. They really show the design coming together into the shape of a “stingray”.

The feel of her typically fluid architechtural syle is starting to come through. The British Design Museum characterises her work like this – “Hadid creates the solid apparatus to make us perceive space as if it morphs and changes as we pass through.”

This slideshow runs over the year from December 2008 to November 2009…click on the slideshow or here to see the larger photos on my picasa site.

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So, with a thousand days to go the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) took the opportunity to celebrate. If you were in central London last night you might have seen the light show at the BT Tower, which was also on TV during the lottery programme. If you missed that and you are in London, you can still see celebratory art at the National Portrait Gallery :

“To celebrate 1000 days to the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, Sebastian Coe launches the National Portrait Gallery/BT Road to 2012 Project, a three-year collaboration between the National Portrait Gallery and BT, the official communications services partner for London 2012. It will create 100 world-class photographic portraits celebrating the people around the UK, both high-profile and those behind the scenes, who collectively are making the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games happen.” – National Portrait Gallery

Or around the UK, the Inspire Programme is encouraging activities locally, and e.g. in England the Arts Council is “challenging artists to use the nation as a blank canvas” in Artists Taking the Lead.

“The successful commissions will be developed across 2010 and 2011, and all 12 will take part in a final unifying celebration before the opening of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.” – Artists Taking the Lead

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London Olympic Development Site East London

This picture taken 9th October 2009 shows the view looking west to east across the south side of the park. You can see the aquatics centre at the back and this will include the main entrance to the games. As the ODA says “The 250m-long and 40m-wide bridge will be the main pedestrian access into the Olympic Park during the Games. It will also form the roof of the Aquatics Centre training pool.” I will try to get some photos of this as it is being put in place today I can’t imagine yet how that will actually work, but it sounds interesting.

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This is essentially a public venture with the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) at the head and providing funding together with Sport England, Transport for London (TfL), and the London Marathon Charitable Trust (LMCT). The ODA says that after games time, “a road cycle circuit and mountain bike course will be added to the Velodrome and BMX circuit to create a legacy VeloPark that will combine cycling facilities across all disciplines in one cycling ‘hub’”.

This is a real boost for a sport which we are OK at, but the expectation is that it will also be a classic venue anyway! The London Cycling Campaign reckons this should have been built with or without the Olympics and London Cycle Sport cites the success of the Manchester Velodrome.

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