Architizer News
Breaking Away: First 2012 Olympic Venue Completed
February 23, 2011
Image via the BBC.
The 2012 Olympic Velodrome has won the race for fastest build time on London’s Olympic Village site: it entered construction in March of 2009, meaning it was completed in just under two years.
The structure is notable on several accounts. Its cable-tensioned roof weighs half of any other existing velodrome, and materials for the wood-heavy design were all sourced sustainably. According to the BBC, it took over 300,000 nails to affix the slats of Siberian Pine to the framework that makes up the track. They explain that the speed of the track is “determined by a range of factors including slope, temperature and overall environmental condition.”
Read more about the Velodrome and its creator.
Image via the BBC.
Who designed it? Ron Webb (principle of R.V. Webb Consultants) a former Australian cycling champion who used his success to launch himself into a career as the definitive race track designer.
The London venue is Webb’s third Olympic velodrome – Webb has said that after 2012, he plans to “retire properly and sit on a nice white beach in the South Seas and watch the grass skirts go by!” Webb seems like kind of a cut up and an all-around great guy, so we say, enjoy the beach Mr. Webb.
You can read the full interview with Webb here. Images via the BBC.
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