London 2012 Olympics Athletes' Village

An integrated and sustainable urban development to provide state-of-the-art accommodation for athletes during the London 2012 Olympics and a new urban area for London after the games. The London 2012 Athletes Village provided accommodation for the 24,500 athletes and event staff who took part in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. Following the completion of the games, the development has been transformed into a new urban area in East London comprising approximately 2900 apartments and townhouses arranged over 11 plots.

Bryden Wood was part of a team of architects working on the plot designs. The village, together with related accommodation and additional structures, formed part of an overall £2 billion development.

Bryden Wood worked ‘site wide’ on a number of elements of the project, including the production of standardised details for the internal fit out, Games Use works (how the Village will be used during the Games), and concluding with the Retrofit phase (finishing works: kitchens, wardrobes, floor finishes etc.) to prepare the apartments ready for occupation. Each individual plot retains its own architectural identity, with different practices involved in each case.

Bryden Wood liaised with each of the plot-specific design teams to guide the design process and implement the use of standard detail information for all elements common across the different buildings. Project efficiency was maximized by reducing the amount of duplicated work and centralizing the design delivery resource, thus minimizing design risk and allowing the design to evolve in line with the preferences of the developer, Lend Lease.