Aquatics Centre (London)
2214042
224460106
2008-07-08T22:56:31Z
Kanabekobaton
622297
[[Image:Aquatics Centre Games-time4-EDIT.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The redesigned Aquatics centre by Zaha Hadid, unveiled in November 2006]]
In 2005 construction began on an '''Aquatics Centre''' at [[Stratford, London|Stratford]] in [[East London, England|East]] [[London]]. It is due to be completed in 2011 by the firm Balfour Beatty.<ref name="triples">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7336542.stm|title=Cost of 2012 Olympic pool triples|publisher=BBC NEWS|accessdate=2008-07-01}}</ref> It will be an indoor facility with two 50 metre swimming pools and a 25 metre diving pool, and has been designed by architect [[Zaha Hadid]]. It will replace the pools at the [[Crystal Palace Sports Centre]] in South London as the British capital's leading facility for aquatic sports.
The centre will be used for [[swimming]], [[diving]], [[synchronised swimming]] and [[water polo]] at the [[2012 Summer Olympics]]. It will be located in the Olympic Park, close to the [[Olympic Stadium (London)|Olympic Stadium]]. During the games it will have a capacity of 20,000, which will be reduced to 3,500 afterwards.
On [[1 December]] [[2005]] Hadid was instructed to revise her designs after a specification change led to a doubling of the £75 million estimated cost.{{ref|Costs}} The revised plans were unveiled on 27 November 2006.{{ref|New}}{{ref|Design}} Although the same general design has been kept and will still be able to hold 20,000 spectators, the aquatics centre will now be much smaller and will cost much less than previously expected.
On [[8 April]] [[2008]] it was reported that the center will cost about three times as was originally estimated, totaling about £242m. Cost increases were attributed to construction inflation and VAT increases, and also includes the estimated cost of converting the facility for public use after the Olympics.<ref name="triples"/> The capacity of the centre is now estimated to be about 17,500 and will contain two 50-metre swimming pools. The roof is slated to be 11,200 square feet, a reduction from the previously stated 35,000 square feet.
Despite the cost increases, the centre should stay within the total construction budget for the event, which is an estimated £6.09bn.<ref name="triples"/>
The preliminary rounds of the water polo will be held at a 5,000 seat pool at the [[University of East London]]'s [[London Docklands|Docklands]] campus. After the games this will be dismantled and reassembled elsewhere in the UK.
==References==
{{reflist}}
#{{note|programme}} [http://www.london2012.com/NR/rdonlyres/53624644-FE24-42EB-B3C9-894D2036AED9/0/OlympicParkProgramme.pdf Olympic park programme]
#{{note|Costs}} ([[1 December]] [[2005]]). "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/4488368.stm Olympic pool plans to be revised]" at BBC News. Accessed [[1 December]] [[2005]].
#{{note|New}} [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/6187774.stm BBC News website]
#{{note|Design}} [http://www.london2012.com/en/news/press+room/releases/2006/November/2006-11-27-11-30.htm London 2012 website]
==External Links==
*[http://www.lda.gov.uk/ London Development Agency]
*[http://www.zaha-hadid.com Zaha Hadid Architects]
{{coord|51.539809|-0.010504|type=landmark_region=GB|display=title}}
{{2012 Summer Olympics venues}}
[[Category:Sports venues in London]]
[[Category:2012 Summer Olympic venues]]
[[Category:Swimming venues in England]]
[[de:Aquatics Centre London]]