Description

The Olympic Athletes Village is an integral part of the London 2012 Olympics 2,000m² site located in Stratford. Situated within walking distance of the Olympic Park, the village contains approximately 3500 apartments over 15 plots to accommodate all athletes and officials. The design also caters for the requirements of a legacy residential complex post Games.

In partnership with London-based architects, Patel Taylor, BVN designed two of the 15 plots. Each plot contains an average of 290 apartments, housed within five buildings. These are arranged around an internal courtyard, which includes car-parking, cycle stores and private communal space. Adding to the richness of design, two up-and-coming architects designed the elevations of two buildings on each plot.

At the end of the Games, the apartments are designed to provide social housing and private dwellings for the growing demand for accommodation within a culturally diverse population.

As a result of the 2005 terrorist attacks on the city, security is at the forefront of the building design, as is sustainability.

The most notable sustainable initiative is a large water feature, which forms the ‘waterfront boulevard’ linking all the plots of the village. This reservoir is the principal storm-water storage for the site, which is recycled for toilet flushing and irrigation.