by: admin
Robert Eisenstat, AIA, Co-chair of the AIANY Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, introduces Jason Prior.
Daniel Fox
Event: London 2012: The Olympics and the Legacy
Location: Center for Architecture, 05.02.12
Speaker: Jason Prior, Chief Executive of Practice for Planning, Design, and Development, AECOM
Organizer: AIANY Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; AIANY Planning and Urban Design Committee
Sponsor: AECOM
For any city, being named host for the Olympic Games is cause for celebration. Winning this bid, however, also poses many long-term challenges. “The Olympic franchise demands a lot, and then they leave, and you’re kind of left holding the baby,” explained Jason Prior, Chief Executive of Practice for Planning, Design, and Development for AECOM, which was engaged to develop the master plan for London’s 2012 games.
AECOM viewed the Olympics as a catalyst for change and offered an urban solution, dubbed the “Legacy Plan,” which considers the park’s impacts on the city 20 to 30 years after the games end. The design “avoids token gestures,” according to Prior, and focuses 75% of funds towards future uses for Londoners. AECOM examined mistakes made in the designs of past Olympic parks, such as huddling venues too close together so they are unable to disperse and become part of the urban fabric. Another astute point he made was: “Why build permanent venues for sports that aren’t even played in your country?”
The East London site selected for the Olympic park was a derelict area plagued by pollution, poverty, crime, and instability. But it did offer a major bonus: access to public transportation infrastructure. The designers located major venues, such as the stadium and aquatics center, closest to these transportation hubs, and connected all buildings with a central parkway. These buildings were designed to their completed state and will be fitted with temporary overlays, such as additional seating that can be removed following the games.
When the security fence comes down, the park will spread out and become folded into the city, stitching the community back together. According to Prior, even temporary events can build the idea of place in an area that previously lacked identity.
Murrye Bernard is a freelance architecture writer and a contributing editor to Contract Magazine and e-Oculus. www.murrye.com