Design
It was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid in 2004 before London won the bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The centre was built alongside the Water Polo Arena, and opposite the Olympic Stadium on the opposite bank of the Waterworks River. The site is 45 metres (148 feet) high, 160 metres (520 feet) long and 80 metres (260 feet) wide. The wave-like roof is stated to be 11,200 square feet (1,040 m2), a reduction from the previously stated 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2).
The complex has a 50m competition pool, a 25m competition diving pool and a 50m warm-up pool. The 50m pool is 3 metres deep, like the one in the Beijing National Aquatics Center, in order to be fast. Its floor can be moved to reduce the depth. There are also moveable booms that allow its size to be changed. The diving pool has platform boards at heights of 3m, 5m, 7.5m and 10m and three 3m springboards. For the television coverage of the Olympics, the pools are also equipped with innovative cameras in order to present the action from multiple angles.
Because the centre was designed before the Olympic bid was completed, the spectator wings were not part of the original design. They were later added to fit the estimated audience.
Jacques Rogge, IOC President, described the Centre as a "masterpiece".
Read more about this topic: London Aquatics Centre
Famous quotes containing the word design:
“I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.”
—John Adams (1735–1826)
“I begin with a design for a hearse.
For Christ’s sake not black—
nor white either—and not polished!
Let it be weathered—like a farm wagon—”
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)
“The reason American cars don’t sell anymore is that they have forgotten how to design the American Dream. What does it matter if you buy a car today or six months from now, because cars are not beautiful. That’s why the American auto industry is in trouble: no design, no desire.”
—Karl Lagerfeld (b. 1938)