London 2012 Velodrome

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.

Concrete was used for the 48 columns used for the concourse, and for the ‘bowl’ in which the track itself sits. The track has got no expansion joints in it, so when it's hot and dries out it tends to move up and down, so it sits well in a concrete bowl, almost like a piece of furniture.

The Velodrome’s concrete lower tier will have 3,500 seats located around the track. A further 2,500 seats will be suspended in two upper tiers within the two curves of the venue’s roof. In between the lower concrete tiers and upper tiers there will be a glass wall, giving spectators a 360-degree view across the Olympic Park and allowing people outside the venue to see the sporting action taking place inside.

The Velodrome is claimed to be the most sustainable venue in the Olympic Park in terms of design and construction. The building has a number of measures to save energy: plenty of natural light, high levels of insulation, and natural ventilation, with a mechanical boost if required.

Construction was completed on the Velodrome in February 2011.

Project team:

Client: Olympic Delivery Authority
Architect: Hopkins Architects
Structural engineer: Expedition Engineering
M&E consultant: BDSP
Legacy landscape consultant: Grant Associates