Find out how a brownfield site has been transformed to create the London 2012 Olympic park.
Derelict industrial buildings and areas of neglect made up a large part of the brownfield site which was transformed by the ODA into an urban park with world class sporting facilities on the Olympic Park site.
Sustainability has been at the heart of the process.
There are five themes underpinning sustainability targets for London 2012:
- climate change.
- waste.
- biodiversity.
- inclusion.
- healthy living.
John Armitt (ODA Chairman):
‘From the outset of the project, the Olympic Park has set new standards in sustainability, including the delivery of lightweight venues, the recycling or reuse of waste materials, using concrete with a high recycled content, and delivering materials by rail or water. We have achieved new standards for a project of this size and scale and have raised the bar for the industry.’
Sustainability headlines
- 60% of construction materials by weight were delivered by rail or water transport. This reduced vehicle movement and resulting carbon emissions.
- 90% of construction waste was diverted from landfill and was reused or recycled instead.
- The re-design of The Greenway, a key walking and cycling route, used materials including bricks, paving stones, cobbles, man-hole covers, timber sleepers and tiles that were salvaged from the demolition and site clearance stages.
- Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of soil which would otherwise have been transported off site was cleaned and reused. All kinds of contaminants were removed in a process called remediation.
Sustainability measures at the venues
- Olympic Stadium – the most lightweight Olympic Stadium to date, minimising the use of steel. The roof truss was made out of unwanted gas pipelines, and recycled granite from King George V docks was used for the Stadium’s river banks.
- Velodrome – almost 100% naturally ventilated. Rainwater is collected from the roof for flushing toilets and for irrigation.
- Aquatics Centre – the concrete in the foundations of the venue has a high recycled content and the water used to clean the swimming pool filters is recycled for toilet flushing.
- In total, the sports venues use at least 40% less water than equivalent buildings due to initiatives such as low flush toilets and rainwater harvesting.
- Many of the venues and bridges have living habitat spaces incorporated into walls and roofs.
In the Parklands
- Reduced risk of flooding with measures such as river widening, strengthening flood defences and sustainable urban drainage.
- More than 4,000 trees, 74,000 plants, 60,000 bulbs and 300,000 wetland plants were planted to create a new open green space for London.
- 45 hectares of wildlife habitats were created including reed beds, grasslands, ponds, woodlands, 525 bird boxes, 150 bat boxes and artificial otter holts.
- Waterways throughout the Olympic Park were overhauled through a multi-million pound dredging programme which improved water quality and created a more accessible habitat for wildlife.
Green energy
- Energy Centre producing energy for the site through a biomass boiler using woodchip fuel.
- A Combined Cooling Heat & Power (CCHP) plant captures the heat generated as a by-product of electricity production and is up to 30% more energy-efficient than traditional generation.
During the Games
- Green travel plans for ticketed spectators and workforce.
- Cycling and walking will be encouraged via the Active Travel Programme.
- Low/zero-carbon Olympic and Paralympic flames.
- Zero waste to landfill at Games time.
Find more information about sustainability and the Olympic Park.
