Olympic Velodrome
Subscribe now to instantly view this image
Subscribe to the Architects’ Journal (AJ) for instant access to the AJ Buildings Library, an online database of nearly 2,000 exemplar buildings in photographs, plans, elevations and details.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
Richard Davis Download Original
One of the four permanent venues on the Olympic Park, the Velodrome provides a venue for the indoor track cycling events at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
The Velodrome contains 6,000 seats in both Olympic and Legacy modes and responds to both contexts in an appropriate manner with minimal transformation.
The upper and lower seating tiers are split by the main public circulation concourse which forms the main point of entry into the arena and allows spectators to maintain contact with the action on the track as they circulate around the building.
The concourse is fully glazed to allow views both into and out of the building. It also helps to visually separate the Western Red Cedar clad upper bowl from the ground floor back of house accommodation which is largely hidden behind the landscaped earth berms that form a visual plinth at the East and West ends of the building.
Cycling inspired the concept for the Velodrome. The architect sought the same application of design creativity and engineering rigour that goes into the design and manufacture of the bike to manifest itself in the building. Not as a mimicry of the bicycle but as a three dimensional response to the functional requirements of the venue.
Data
- Begun: Feb 2009
- Completed: Jan 2011
- Floor area: 21,000m2
- Sector: Sports and leisure
- Total cost: £90M
- Funding: ODA
- Tender date: Aug 2007
- Procurement: NEC3
- CO2 Emissions: 67kg/m2/year
- Address: Olympic Velopark, Stratford, London, E15, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: Hopkins Architects
- Client: Olympic Delivery Authority
- Structural engineer: Expedition Engineering
- M&E consultant: BDSP Partnership
- Facade engineer: Arup Facades
- Acoustic consultant: Paul Gilleron Acoustic
- BREEM assessor: Southfacing
- Track Designer: Ron Webb
- Main contractor: ISG
- Fire consultant: Arup Fire
- Crowd engineering: Arup Crowd
- Landscape architect: Grant Associates
Suppliers
- Roof supplier: Corus Kalzip
- Curtain walling : Schuco
- Light fittings: Phillips