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London 2012 oLympic and paraLympic Games
UK & europe: Woodcote Grove, Ashley Road, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5BW, UK, T: +44 (0)1372 726140asia pacific: 46th Floor, Raffles City, 268 Xi Zang Zhong Lu, Shanghai 200001, People’s Republic of China, T: +86 21 6122 5100
middle east and india: PO Box 5620, Dubai, UAE, T: +971 4405 9300americas: 2925 Briarpark Drive, Suite 550, Houston, TX 77042, USA, T: +1 832 476 3300 p
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“The London 2012 olympic and paralympic Games represent a chance for Atkins to take part in something bigger than itself, and to take its
place on the world stage, alongside all those involved”
oUrenGineerinGdesiGnjoUrney
www.atkinsglobal.com
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In January 2009, the London
Organising Committee of the
Olympic and Paralympic Games
(LOCOG) announced that Atkins
had been appointed the official
engineering design services provider
for the London 2012 Games.
While it is under development,
London 2012 is the world’s biggest
infrastructure project. It will
culminate in the biggest event in the
world. It requires groundbreaking
work and innovative thinking at
every stage. This is a very big win
for Atkins, but this isn’t just a story
about a supplier winning a contract.
And, while it is a reflection of the
organisation’s engineering design
expertise, it isn’t just about prestige.
This is a tremendous responsibility,
one that we take very seriously.
After all, the Games represent
a simple but powerful idea: that
the world can come together to
celebrate the extraordinary in us
all – even if it is only for a few
weeks every four years. It is about
pageantry and glory for the world’s
greatest athletes, and a showcase
for the UK. It is a chance for Atkins
to take part in something bigger
than itself and to take its place on
the world stage alongside all those
involved in the creation of London
2012. It is also a chance to leave
behind a truly sustainable legacy
for London, one that stretches far
beyond the Games. It’s an idea we
believe in so much that we decided
to become a sponsor of the event
as well as a supplier.
The eyes of the world will be
on the London 2012 Games, both
as a celebration of sport and as a
statement about the city itself.
London has accepted the challenge
and is responding with flair.
Engineering is providing answers
to many of the challenges involved.
For example, how can a city that is
as developed as London be
transformed into a suitable setting
for this event in time? How will it
be able to cope with issues such as
transport, to welcome the millions
who will want to take part, when
the city’s infrastructure is already
being pushed to its limits? What’s
being done to ensure the work
takes issues such as sustainability,
community and ecology into
account? What will be the real
legacy of London 2012?
Atkins is providing the
engineering design answers to
these questions. This expertise
is part of the reason Atkins was
selected to take part in this
extraordinary event, and we are
proud to be working with LOCOG
and the Olympic Delivery Authority
to deliver these solutions.
Being entrusted with such
a major project demands that we
do our absolute best. We certainly
have the experience and expertise
required, whether working on
Olympic Park infrastructure or
designing dozens of temporary
facilities for events being staged
across the UK. It is just the type of
project our people thrive on and,
as it continues, we will demonstrate
that we are worthy of that trust.
Team spirit
welcomeKEITH CLArKECHIEF ExECUTIvEATKIns
�
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“THE EyEs OF THE WOrLD WILL BE On London 2012,
BOTH As a ceLebraTIon of sporT and as a sTaTemenT
abouT The cITy ITseLf”
Team spirit
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The righT foundaTionsInfrastructure not only serves the basic needs of a city, it informs its character, from Manhattan’s grid-based roads to the Victorian-era sewers running beneath London’s streets. But how can infrastructure define the personality of an event like London 2012?�
scope and scaleinfrastructure
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The righT foundaTions
Infrastructure brings cities to life.
utilities such as drainage, power and water
supplies are part of the equation. But so too
are roads, railways, public spaces, landscaping
and even the pavement. When they work
together, these components create something
that is far more than the sum of their parts.
they create a sense of place.
atkins is playing a major role in the
preparations for the London 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games. Working with the
Olympic Delivery authority (ODa), its
Delivery Partner and other contractors,
a brand new landscape is being created
out of an industrial wasteland for London’s
Olympic Park. atkins will also provide
hundreds of temporary sporting venues
up and down the country.
“We’re the project managers for the
preparation of the whole site,” says Mike
Mcnicholas, atkins project director for
London 2012. “this involves working with
the contractors to clean up contaminated
land and move the old landform into its new
shape. We are also infrastructure designers
for the northern zones. Our job is to create
the platform on which the Games are being
built. this includes detailed landscape
creation, as well as designing roads and
bridges for the north of the park.”
“almost every conceivable type of
infrastructure creation is going on at the
Olympic Park,” says John armitt, chairman
of the ODa. this public body is responsible
for the new venues and infrastructure being
created for the Games, and their use after
2012. “We’re virtually building a small town,
from a power station to a medical centre, to
apartments, tunnels, locks and sports stadia.
“in order to create the Olympic Park in this
particular part of London, we are investing
massively in infrastructure,” says armitt. “the
stadia are not the most expensive part of the
bill; we’re spending more on infrastructure.
this represents an automatic infrastructure
legacy for this part of London, in the form of
improved communications, rail systems, power
systems, roads and bridges. the infrastructure
of the four boroughs touched by London
2012 is being massively improved. in effect,
75p out of every £1 that we’re spending is still
going to be in use 100 years from now.”
Beyond infrastructureMajor infrastructure projects such as these
emphasise the way that engineering is
changing. concrete, steel and calculations
are still very much part of the picture. But so
is a deeper understanding of the social and
aesthetic dimension. Bringing today’s larger-
than-life projects to fruition means looking
beyond the drawing board.
“We call this ‘development infrastructure’,”
says Mcnicholas. “We came up with that term
to describe an integrated approach to the
provision of the things that go between the
buildings on large-scale projects. in its broader
sense, development infrastructure can be
physical and social.
“the big challenge is to take quite
utilitarian design standards and to make them
appropriate to a more local look and feel, to
become part of an aesthetic solution,” he says.
“Development infrastructure is a fundamental
part of the life of a place. it becomes the heart
of the social interaction that people have in
the public space. it combines engineering
with architecture in equal measure.”
the elements of urban design include
roads, bridges, landscaping and surface
treatments. the detailed configuration of
each component and its relative position in
the bigger picture determine how a place will
look and feel, and how it will be used. Putting
it all together is both a science and an art.
“it’s really about emotional intelligence,”
says Mcnicholas. “You have to understand
the bigger picture for a masterplan. the
engineer needs to have empathy for the
social aspect – the aesthetic backed by
engineering is really important. it puts us
in a different space. it means being led by
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architects and masterplanners, rather than by
processes or very rigid end-user requirements.
“for London 2012, the infrastructure
planning is also driven by legacy,” he
emphasises. “Virtually everything we do
must either have a use after the event itself
is over or be built in a temporary way. We
have to think about costs, adaptability and
design for re-use.”
it’s a question of creating places that
are aesthetically pleasing, while using the
landscape as a tool for achieving social and
environmental goals. it’s a vision that puts
sustainability and legacy centre-stage.
“We have set the sustainability bar
very high for London 2012, with a series
of targets that we want to achieve,” says
armitt. “for example, we set ourselves a
target to recycle 90 per cent of the site
materials following some early demolition
at the Olympic Park. We achieved 95 per
cent. it’s a question of raising the bar on
what becomes the norm for environmental
and sustainable design.
“at the same time, part of our remit is to
make sure that everything built and provided
as part of the Olympic Park continues to be
maintained to a high standard. We want
people to want to take advantage of the site
after London 2012,” he adds. “We’re trying
to create a new place in London that people
will want to go to.”
sufficient resources and budget need to
be in place in order to maintain the Olympic
Park after London 2012, armitt argues: “it
needs to be open and useable, even if it’s just
green space where people can go and hang
out on sunday morning. it requires a realistic
and sensible ongoing maintenance budget to
ensure that the place is kept in good order.
Otherwise, people won’t go there and the
area could very rapidly slip backwards.”
“at atkins,” notes Mcnicholas,
“we’re seeing far more examples where
the balance between the environment
and the public space is being achieved,
especially in northern europe. it’s about
creating a space that is complementary
to people’s lifestyles and to function.
infrastructure is part of a holistic
�
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package that looks at the bigger picture,
supporting cycling and walking, for example.
it can be a way of achieving both social and
physical wellbeing.”
“the question is: how do you create
somewhere new and exciting, somewhere
people want to visit but that still belongs to
the people living in the local boroughs?”
adds armitt. “We want to produce
something that adds to the community.”
creating new landscapes for new lives has
big implications for the people – engineers,
planners and architects – whose job it is to
breathe life into those projects.
“they have to be technically compliant,
but they also need more rounded skills,”
he says. “they need to empathise with
the other disciplines working on the project
and be willing to go the extra mile to
achieve real design quality. for example, very
little of a civil engineer’s work can be seen by
the public. But where it does show, it needs
to be part of the public realm, part of the
physical architecture of the Olympic Park,
for example, or the streetscape.”
no development site is a blank canvas,
of course. Brownfield city sites in particular
bear a heavy and sometimes hazardous
imprint of what has gone before. When
shaping a new landscape, experts need to
gain a full understanding of the complete
site. Detective work is part of the job and
remedial action is often required.
“first, we assess what the land has
been used for before,” explains Mcnicholas.
“You have to understand what a society
and its industry was like to know what
might be in the ground. You need to
know what regulation was in place. for
example, there’s a landfill on the Olympic
Park site. We looked at what industries
were in the area over the centuries, to get
a sense of its history. We found that, in the
past, people would use radioactive isotopes
in filaments of lamps. there’s a risk that
there could be something nasty in the
waste and we need to be prepared to
deal with that. all of this contributes to
the ultimate success or failure of such a
major infrastructure project.”
Temporary thinkingPreparations for London 2012 represent one
of the largest single mobilisations of people
and resources in Britain in the past �0 years.
More than nine million visitors are expected to
buy tickets for the Games, in which 10,500
Olympic and �,200 Paralympic athletes will
take part. as well as its role in preparing the
London site for the 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games, atkins has also won the
contract to provide all the engineering design
services for the temporary facilities that are
needed to stage the Games.
these facilities – of which there are
around 100 – are scattered across the
country. they include venues at the Olympic
Park, up to 15 competition venues along the
river thames and around London, with
further venues in Glasgow, cardiff,
Manchester, newcastle, Birmingham and
Weymouth. some 50 non-competition and
training venues are also included in the deal.
creating high-profile temporary
infrastructure is familiar territory for atkins.
the company’s portfolio includes civil projects
as well as military contracts, such as one with
the British army that includes camps in
Kosovo and afghanistan. temporary
infrastructure projects such as these, believes
Mcnicholas, could lead to new ways of
thinking about the built environment.
“it challenges us to do things in a slightly
different way. if there’s a shortage of capital in
the marketplace post-recession, we’re going to
have to look at new ways of doing things. that
means adapting more buildings and looking at
reduced design life: if the client wants to run a
business for ten years, why do you need a
building that’s going to last 50?”
Worldwide, the market for development
infrastructure remains significant for atkins,
stresses Mcnicholas: “these massive projects
require a broad range of skills brought
together very early in the programme. they
are complicated and involve environmental
skills, sustainability and carbon critical design.
they involve waterborne transport, rail
transport, utilities, power, water, gas and
a comprehensive understanding of cost
modelling. every part of atkins is involved.”
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“How do you create sOMeWhere neW anD excitinG, sOMeWhere PeOPLe Want tO Visit But that stiLL BeLOnGs tO the PeOPLe LiVinG in the LOcaL BOrOuGhs? we want to produce sometHIng tHat adds to tHe communIty”– JOhn arMitt, chairMan, ODa
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London 2012 is set to be the biggest sporting
and cultural event the UK has ever seen. The modern
Olympic Games have changed beyond recognition
since the last time London played host. In 1948, just
over 4,000 competitors arrived to challenge for
medals in 136 events. In 2012, 14,700 athletes will
arrive, along with 55,000 members of the Olympic
family of judges, technical officials and sponsors,
and 20,000 accredited members of the media.
While the focus will be on the track, pool and
velodrome, somehow all of those people will need to
be able to move from one location to another with
relative ease. And while all that’s happening, the world’s
greatest city needs to carry on working and celebrating.
Simple, surely?Hugh Sumner is the man charged with
co-ordinating transport for the Olympic Delivery
Authority (ODA): “Basically, we do all the transport
upgrades directly and indirectly required for London
2012,” he says. “We will be responsible for timetables
as well as organising the buses, roads, river, cycle,
mainline rail, light rail – everything – for about
20 million people.”
The ODA, in collaboration with the existing
transport authorities, has taken a three-pronged
approach to this seemingly insurmountable problem.
“First, we will need to get the best we can out of
the existing system,” says Sumner. “Second, where
extra capacity is needed and there is a legacy case,
then we will co-fund or build it. Third, where there
isn’t a legacy case for those ‘peak of the peak’ times,
we will put in a temporary solution rather than
wasting resources, time and energy putting in
something that won’t have future use.”
Of course, the perennial complaint about the
amount spent on any Games is the question of
legacy. However, Mark Cowlard, rail solutions
director for Atkins’ southern region, disagrees:
“This work is all about enhancing capacity for the
long term: getting more people from one place to
another as quickly as possible. There is no question
that the network needs those enhancements,
London 2012 notwithstanding.”
Atkins’ main involvement with delivering transport
projects for the Games is largely centred on rail.
“In London, we’re looking at an 80 per cent
mode share by rail, roughly, with 20 per cent
pedestrian, cycling and road (park-and-ride and
coach),” says Sumner.
Specific projects include the management
of improvement works in Stratford, right at the
heart of the Olympic Park. For the purposes of
the improvements, Atkins is acting on behalf
of Network Rail to ensure that any engineering
work does not affect the operational running
of the railway.
“We receive requests from contractors and
stakeholders in the area and manage the delivery
of the work,” says Cowlard. “They might want
to put a bridge over the railway for pedestrians,
for example. We’ll work with them and Network
Rail to understand the requirements and then give
approval for those things to be done in a safe
and efficient way.”
Away from Stratford, the North London Line
improvement is currently the biggest project. With
ODA funding, Atkins has been working on improving
track, signalling and platforms across a network that
crucially links east and west, one of the few routes in
the transport network not based on the centre-out
radial system.
The North London line also links into the Docklands
Light Railway, London’s youngest rail system. The DLR
forms an important link into the Olympic Park from
the City and the south east. As such, it requires
significantly increased capacity and scope. The core
extension will run from Stratford International to
Canning Town and be connected to the Beckton and
Woolwich Arsenal Docklands Light Railway routes.
As well as this, Atkins is also managing the DLR’s
“three-car capacity upgrade” programme, which is
delivering the infrastructure enhancements required
to move from two- to three-car operation.
fast forwardTRANSPORT
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All the right movesLondon’s transport network IS UNDeRGOING A SIGNIFICANT UPGRADe IN TIMe FOR the London 2012 oLympic Games and paraLympic Games. CAReFUL PLANNING IS NeeDeD TO MAKe SURe DeMAND IS MeT ON TIMe, WITHOUT SADDLING THe CITy WITH UNNeCeSSARy INFRASTRUCTURe AND exPeNSe.
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All the right moves
3.5%*
ACROSS TeN URBAN AReAS IN THe UK, averaGe vehicLe journey time per miLe WAS 3 MINUTeS 35 SeCONDS PeR MILe IN THe qUARTeR eNDING FeBRUARy 2009[SOURCe: UK DePARTMeNT FOR TRANSPORT]
the overaLL percentaGe decrease IN UK TRAFFIC LeveLS BeTWeeN THe FIRST qUARTeRS OF 2008 AND 2009 [SOURCe: UK DePARTMeNT FOR TRANSPORT]
*Provisional figures, q1 2009
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“IN LONDON, We’Re LOOKING AT AN 80 per cent mode share By RAIL, ROUGHLy, WITH 20 PeR CeNT PeDeSTRIAN, CyCLING AND ROAD (PARK-AND-RIDe AND COACH)” – HUGH SUMNeR, TRANSPORT, ODA
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Avoiding a world-class headacheOf course, London’s status as a leading world
city is both a blessing and a curse. The transport
infrastructure is there, for better or worse.
engineers already have a big train set to play
with in order to meet demand. To put the
transport demands of the Games in context,
planners had to understand the interaction
between managing a major event and what
happens on a typical working day in London.
There are 12 million public transport trips a day
and London 2012 will have over nine million
tickets available for events. On its busiest day,
there are 800,000 tickets available.
But those numbers will be made up of
visitors who don’t know their way around,
congregating in certain concentrated areas
and not dispersed across the network.
“The big challenge for us is overlaying the
actual demand on those networks because the
patterns of time and volume will differ during
London 2012,” says Sumner. “For example, on
an ordinary day, you wouldn’t expect the thick
end of 400,000 people to descend upon
Stratford. even on a good day, it might be busy,
but not that busy. Luckily, London has resilience
in comparison with places such as Athens and
Sydney, where you had a huge increase in
demand compared with what was normal.
We are fortunate in that respect.”
Despite the strength of the existing network,
the inevitable strain highlights the need for
planners and engineers to squeeze every last bit
of capacity out of the network as well as coming
up with innovative temporary solutions for the
duration of the Games, swiftly followed by the
Paralympic Games.
After all, even for the Games, no-one has
carte blanche to bring London’s rail network
to a halt while enhancing the infrastructure to
prepare for them. It’s an issue that keeps the
best minds awake at night.
“That is the biggest consideration really,”
admits Cowlard. It is also the factor that
generates one of the greatest costs. Fortunately,
Atkins is able to bring its experience of managing
major infrastructure projects to bear on what
could turn into a logistical nightmare.
“Because of the way the rail industry has to
work, the key is balancing efficiency with the
need to avoid disruption to the public,” says
Cowlard. “It is essential to try to maintain a
positive customer experience at all times and
that does come back to planning. It is inevitable
that the public will experience a degree of
disruption due to the works. The key thing is to
make sure they know it’s coming and to put in
place proper plans to mitigate it.”
According to Cowlard, the fact that east
London already has a well-developed transport
network allows for alternative routes to take
up the slack.
“you’ve got lots of different options both
radically and concentrically. By making sure
that whoever owns those elements isn’t doing
maintenance or enhancements at the same
time, it is possible to ensure that customers
will have different alternatives to get to work.”
An issue often ignored when projects
such as this are discussed is the human angle.
Infrastructure and rolling stock make up crucial
elements of the plan for London 2012, but
anticipating and understanding human
behaviour is just as important. Andy Southern,
managing director of transport planning and
management for Atkins, stresses the importance
of focusing on the customer experience.
“There’s a view that some residents will
vacate the city during London 2012 and that will
help reduce some of the transport demands,” he
says. “Of course, assumptions need to be made
when planning the route network and there are
lessons to be learned from past Games, but you
need to make sure those lessons are transferable.
For example, will the collective London psyche
and reaction be the same as that in Sydney? Will
they want to be around London to participate in
what will be a great occasion?
“The authorities have to take this uncertainty
into account when making decisions about things
such as capacity levels, where the pinch points in
the network will be and how to manage demand.”
Southern cites the mayor of London’s
ongoing commitment to doing more for
pedestrians and cyclists in London as a
welcome move, especially with the Olympic
and Paralympic Games on the horizon:
“This alleviates overcrowding but also makes
London more accessible and more easily
understood. These are key requirements for
London 2012 and they are expected of any
world-class city. London 2012 should also be
the most carbon-efficient from a transport
point of view – again, a key requirement for
London’s future.
“The Olympic and Paralympic Games help to
speed up the resolve and delivery times on these
issues, with pedestrian and public transport
access being the way forward, not only for
central London but inner areas too,” he says.
In addition to the need to move people
around the various venues concentrated in the
east end of London, there is the issue of the
city’s wider cultural life. The bid for the Games
was won in part thanks to London’s cultural
heritage. Transport planners, therefore, cannot
simply look at developing and upgrading routes
to the stadia. They must design and upgrade
systems to allow as many visitors – and athletes
and officials – to experience the city as a whole.
After all, what’s the point of awarding the
Games to a city of theatre, royalty, music and
art if your guests can’t access any of it?
“We’re very clear that we don’t want this to
be a sterile experience for the athletes and
visitors. We want it to be a cultural and sporting
celebration,” adds the ODA’s Sumner. That
means the cultural events in the summer of 2012
will be very much larger than those in Beijing
because the two cities’ plans were different.
“Understanding those differences
and planning the deployment of resources
to achieve those different outcomes are
key to the success of the transportation plans
for the Games,” says Sumner. “We spent
time in Beijing to find out what happened
both before and during the Olympic and
Paralympic Games, and we learned from that.”
Southern notes that “just as important as
providing new transport infrastructure is how
we accommodate the needs of all those
involved in the Games. For example, we need
to ensure that journey times are reliable across
a dedicated network for the London 2012
family while keeping London moving. This
should feel like a festival in London rather
than just a sporting event.”
Making sure the public of London, the
UK and beyond are all accommodated into
a festival of sport will be worthy of gold.
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When something of archaeological value is teased from the ground during a major build or development, the story that unfolds goes beyond the site itself. It becomes part of the cultural heritage of the area and it demands respect. But nothing would be found unless the right people were brought in to look for it.
Digging the past
essentialexpertisearchaeology
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1110 ad
The first stone arch “bow” bridge in Britain gives the area its name
Late 9th century
King Alfred
reputedly digs the Channelsea river
to divert invading Vikings from the
Thames on their way to London
miLesTones: The oLympiC pArK siTe
13
n Iron age
cemetery containing
four skeletons, 4,000-
year-old flint axes, World War II gunning
posts and roman river walls. What do
they all have in common? They were all
unearthed as part of the enabling works
done in the lower lea Valley for the
olympic Park in advance of the london
2012 olympic and Paralympic games. The
archaeological investigation was conducted
by the Museum of london with Pca and
managed by atkins, along with a small
number of specialists. It spanned two years,
involved digging over 140 trenches and was
the largest of its kind in the UK.
archaeology may not loom large in the
imagination when standing in the middle
of a building site, but it is an essential part
of the environmental assessment process
in most large-scale developments. Used
effectively, archaeology can help to avoid
damage to potentially significant finds
and make sure that everyone – from the
developers to the local community –
views a project favourably from the
start and long after the work is done.
“The artefacts we’ve unearthed
at the olympic Park provide some
fascinating clues about what life
was like at different points in its history,” says
Simon Wright, director of infrastructure and
utilities at the olympic Delivery authority
(oDa). “having access to such a large urban
site and discovering such a diverse set of
finds has proved to be a fantastic learning
opportunity. It gives us a very rare perspective
on a large part of early prehistoric london.”
Taryn Nixon is director of the Museum of
london’s archaeology arm and has worked
with atkins on various projects, including
london 2012. She points out that the ability
to manage archaeology in development and
construction effectively depends heavily on
starting early.
“archaeology is a process of discovery,
but it is founded on fundamental risk
management procedures,” says Nixon.
“We identify the potential risks of the
project to our heritage, and what should be
done in order to manage and mitigate them.
By providing as much information as possible
to the developer early on, we can avoid costly
surprises further down the line.”
Janet Miller, director of atkins’ heritage
team, agrees. as part of its archaeological
expertise, the company helps clients meet their
local authority requirements while getting as
much out the process as possible.
“We communicate exactly what the
obligations are in terms of archaeology, what
options exist and the likely costs involved,”
says Miller. “While it’s essential that any work
is carried out to the highest quality, it’s also
important that it has as little impact as
possible on project schedules and costs.”
achieving these goals means taking
archaeology into account right from the
start of the planning process and getting
any on-site works out of the way before the
construction diggers move in. and london
2012, Nixon points out, is the ultimate
immoveable deadline. “completing the
archaeological work on schedule was
imperative, as was meeting high safety and
quality standards,” she says.
Detective workWhile the physical discovery and painstaking
extraction of artefacts from the soil might
lend archaeology a certain drama and tension,
excavation is the tip of the iceberg.
“That’s when the real work starts, using
what you have uncovered to piece together
what it was like in the past, how people
lived and the topography at a point in time,”
says Miller. For example, thanks to the work
of archaeology teams such as those at atkins
and the Museum of london, we now have a
better picture of what life was like at points
throughout the 12,000 years that the site
has been occupied.
“The location of an abbey at Stratford
indicates that the area was significant during
the medieval period,” says Nixon. “We know
that the post-medieval market gardens of
the lea Valley provided vast quantities of
food to the london area; and that more
recently it had considerable importance in
our industrial heritage.”
To arrive at such conclusions, the investi-
gative work draws on a host of resources
and disciplines. Much of the assessment
work occurs before the trowels come out.
50 ad
roman road “ermine Street” from london to colchester crosses the marshes
3000 bc
Wetlands, which early
Londoners navigated
by timber walkways
to fish and hunt
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“By examining geological and survey maps,
and cross-referencing with what we already
know about the heritage of the surrounding
area, archaeologists can use their professional
judgement to make some educated guesses,”
says Miller. “We also look at the topographic
position of a site. Is it somewhere that people
might have wanted to live in the past, close
to a river, for example? even place names can
tell you a lot about what was there before.”
The results can be exceptional, even if the
site doesn’t hint at what might lie underneath.
For example, when upgrading work was
required on a stretch of the a127 in Southend
in 2003, early assessments identified the area
as a potential site of anglo-Saxon remains.
atkins ran a programme of fieldwork that
resulted in the most exciting anglo-Saxon find
since the discovery of Sutton hoo in Suffolk
70 years ago. a wood-lined tomb housed the
coffin of an east Saxon king, known as the
Prince of Prittlewell, along with a collection
of artefacts, from gold buckles to cauldrons,
all in their original positions.
The rare objects in Southend provided
archaeologists with fascinating insight into
the region’s social history but, once the
work is completed, the town will also boast
a unique and valuable visitor attraction.
The story that emerges can often help to
shape and enhance a development.
During site preparation works for a new
regional business park in Ty Mawr, Wales,
extensive excavations uncovered the unique
remains of a prehistoric village. atkins
provided the Welsh assembly government
with advice and management, culminating
in an interpretation scheme for the public.
The use of educational boards and information
dissemination such as this not only ensure that
this culture and heritage can be appreciated by
everyone, but can inject character that helps to
frame a development in a positive light.
“It can soften the message that the devel-
oper is trying to get across to the public and
demonstrate that they are putting something
back into the community,” says Miller. at the
olympic Park in the lea Valley, the potential
long-term benefits of the site’s historical signifi-
cance were at the heart of the original remit.
Beyond 2012The archaeological discoveries of the
london 2012 site have been an integral
1892 ad
UK’s first petrol factory
1135 ad
Cistercian Abbey exploits
Lea water power
Late 12th century
Knights Templar water mill (Temple Mills)
17th/18th century
UK’s first calico printer and
porcelain factory is established
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part of the oDa’s engagement with
local community groups.
“The excitement of a story comes
into its own when information is being
teased out of the ground, but it doesn’t
stop there,” says Nixon. “a range of
interactive community projects and
museum initiatives are enabling people
in the area to get involved in a very
hands-on way in excavations and
research and educational activities on
the archived material.
“a lot of value can come out of
archaeology because it is intrinsically
educational, multidisciplinary and about
people,” she explains.
“It ties in with the whole ethos of
the london 2012 games,” adds Wright.
“It’s about knowledge and inspiration and
giving everyone the opportunity to learn
and celebrate london’s past. More than
1,000 residents of the five host boroughs have
already seen the artefacts from the olympic
Park and learned about the history of their
area through a programme of events.”
archaeology as an element of the
planning and preparation process could
easily be seen as a barrier by developers.
But projects such as london 2012 demon-
strate how archaeologists can manage the
work effectively and turn what might be
a negative into long-lasting positives.
15
a flint axe more than 4,000 years old was uncovered during the
extensive archaeological investigations conducted at the olympic Park.
Archaeological finds around the olympic park site include
a 19th century boat used for hunting fowl on the
lower river Lea.
1904 ad
William yardley cosmetics, soap and lavender factory
1858 ad
The northern outfall
sewer is constructed
1860 ad
Plastic is invented in the lea Valley
1876 ad
Dry cleaning is introduced
to the UK
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The urbanjungle
When staging one of the largest events in the world, you could be forgiven for not immediately considering the fate of the local flora and fauna – but it does matter. How do you prepare for something as big as London 2012 without disrupting the local ecology?
“Despite appearances, urban sites
can support rich biodiversity. The Olympic
Park is a good example of this,” says Kim
Olliver, Atkins’ senior ecologist. She leads
a team of ecological consultants working
on the site of the future Olympic Park in
the Lower Lea Valley in east London. A mix
of industrial and often contaminated land,
this area has been subject to decades of
neglect. However, as Olliver points out, this
does not mean its ecological importance
should be underestimated.
“In pockets of wetland, woodland
and waterway habitat, a variety of
significant species has been found,” she
says. “This has included rare invertebrates,
Sand Martins and Kingfishers, bats and
fish. It also features native trees such as
the London Plane, which can be up to
70 years old. It’s essential that we
preserve them wherever possible.”
Understanding the importance and
value of even seemingly insignificant things
lies at the heart of efforts to preserve and
protect Britain’s ecology. Each species is
adapted to its surroundings and each
habitat is a web of species interaction.
Upset that equilibrium and species may
be lost, with effects that can cascade
through the ecosystem.
With sustainability a major focus of
the London 2012 Games, environmental
considerations have been fundamental to
the planning process. Before construction
work can start on any project, developers
must complete an environmental impact
assessment, of which ecology is an
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“In POcKETS Of WETLAnd, WOOdLAnd And WATErWAy
HABITAT, A VArIETy Of SIGnIfIcAnT SPEcIES HAS BEEn fOUnd... It’s
essentIal that we preserve them wherever possIble”
forwardthinkingEcOLOGy
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important element. Working alongside
organisations such as the Environment Agency
and natural England, Atkins has ensured that
the interests of the local wildlife come first,
while helping developers meet their legal
environmental requirements with minimum
disruption and cost.
“There may be planning constraints that
contractors are not aware of, so it’s important
that we guide them through that process,”
says Olliver. “We provide advice to the client
on what environmental assessments,
monitoring and mitigation are required and
how to implement the various measures as
effectively and efficiently as possible.”
“Legislation such as the natural
Environment and rural communities Act
and the Wildlife and countryside Act are
designed to prevent damage to the rare and
protected sites around England and Wales,”
says rosemary redmond, Environment
Agency project manager for London 2012.
redmond adds that the conversation
about ecology has to start right at the
beginning of the planning process:
“Environmental considerations can be
seen as a barrier, particularly when there
are tight deadlines to deliver a project.
We have been heavily involved in the
sustainability and biodiversity objectives
on London 2012 since the bid stage
in 2004. We have been a key stakeholder
for strategic and detailed planning documents
including publications such as the Biodiversity
Action Plan, the water space masterplan, and
the parklands and public realm planning
application. With early discussion and a proper
understanding of the likely effects on a site’s
ecology, any potential barriers can be
successfully managed.”
Planning ahead can produce the best
outcome for the species in question and
minimise surprises later on, when delays to the
schedule can have serious cost implications.
“Before you do anything, you have
to know what you’re planning for,”
agrees Olliver, who has been involved
at the Olympic Park site from the outset.
“you can put your own timelines in place,
but any species living on the site will have
their own schedules, whether it be nest-
building, seasonal hibernation or roosting.”
As a rule, she adds, the interests of any
wildlife come first, so project schedules must
be planned accordingly: “If there are rare
birds nesting on a pylon, the removal of
that pylon will just have to wait.”
Putting down rootsAtkins’ ecology consultants work with clients
across the UK on projects of all sizes, from
preservation and translocation of entire
habitats and populations – as at the London
2012 site – to smaller-scale survey work.
It can be a multi-organisational and
multidisciplinary effort. Olliver liaises regularly
on site with everyone from civil engineers and
geotechnical specialists to horticultural experts
and utility inspectors. She ensures that
everyone understands their obligations with
regard to a site’s ecology and to provide
assistance where necessary.
One key area that Olliver is involved in is
the remediation strategy to clear the site of
invasive weed species. This includes Japanese
knotweed, giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam
and floating pennywort. These species are
managed using environmentally sound
techniques prior to construction.
The overall aim is to preserve the
existing biodiversity or, better still, to
improve it. At the London 2012 site,
increasing biodiversity through the creation
and enhancement of habitats has been
central to the ongoing ecology programme.
nurseries have been planted with cuttings
from those areas that will be lost to
construction, in order that the finished site
can be replanted with the original flora.
A 10,000sq m nature reserve has also
been created near the northern perimeter
of the Olympic Park, along the banks of the
river Lea. It is intended that the diverse set
of habitats contained within the reserve will
become home to a variety of flora and fauna,
including species not previously present.
Jason Lovering heads up five rivers,
an environmental consultancy that has
worked alongside Atkins on several
projects at the east London site, one
of which involved the translocation of
a rare habitat to the new reserve.
“In one area of the Olympic Park there
were some old railway sidings that had, over
half a century or so, formed a diverse habitat
for flora and supported rare invertebrates,”
says Lovering. “It might not look terribly
exciting, but this substrate was actually home
to a species such as the toadflax brocade
moth, which is targeted as a priority for
conservation action under the Biodiversity
Action Plan, so it was important that we
made every effort to preserve it.”
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a 10,000sq mnature reserve HAS ALSO BEEn crEATEd nEAr THE nOrTHErn PErIMETEr Of THE OLyMPIc PArK, along the banks of the rIver lea
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The ballast and surrounding earth
were dug up, loaded on to pallets and
successfully translocated to the reserve.
While this might sound like a simple albeit
physical task, it was painstaking work.
“There was a risk that the aggregate
would turn over during transport and
the natural strata that make the habitat
so unique would be disturbed,” says
Lovering. “When you move turf, the
root structure helps to hold it all together,
but when the aggregate has a layer of
fine silt, as was the case here, it can
easily fall apart.”
Lovering also worked with Atkins
to recreate an important invertebrate
habitat, which would compensate for
one lost during construction of the
stadium at Stratford: “We moved some
300 cubic metres of earth from the new
location and replaced it with a clay
material, which provides the nutrient-
poor substrate required for what we
call brownfield flora,” he says. “This
flora – seeded from the original site –
is essential to attract invertebrate species
such as the brown-banded carder bee.”
The substrate was then surrounded by
log walls, which were drilled with holes in
order to encourage the bees to nest.
Linking it upOne of the biggest challenges when trying
to avoid, or compensate for, the loss of
species and habitats – especially when
dealing with a large-scale project – is
connectivity. A new or translocated habitat
will be ineffective and unsustainable if the
animal or plant species are isolated.
“Wildlife in a large city like London
tends to exist in fragmented pockets,
over a large area,” says Olliver. “When
you create or move habitats, you have
to ensure that the ecological connectivity
is maintained or even enhanced.”
In the Lower Lea Valley, for example,
the waterways that criss-cross the Olympic
Park are important conduits for a variety
of species, including Kingfishers.
The Atkins team has taken a transitional
approach to work on the site in order that
such networks are affected as little as
possible. In the long term, conservation
areas created on the London 2012 site
will form part of the future landscape
of the Olympic Park and will be
linked to the wider countryside
through natural corridors.
“Sometimes derelict and
apparently unimportant
urban environments can
be vital to the survival of
a species,” says the
Environment Agency’s
redmond. “These sites
often act as parts of much
larger networks. Together, they
allow the UK to hold one of the largest
varieties of protected sites in Europe.”
“By having a thorough understanding
of the ecology and the requirements at sites
such as the Olympic Park, and by managing
that efficiently, we can ensure that project
delays and costs are kept to a minimum,”
says Olliver. “Most importantly, we can help
to make sure that the rich biodiversity of
the UK is preserved and enhanced for
generations to come.”
“wIlDlIfe In A LArGE cITy LIKE LOndOn TEndS TO ExIST In frAGMEnTEd POcKETS... WHEn yOU crEATE Or MOVE HABITATS, yOU HAVE TO EnSUrE THAT THE ecologIcal connectIvIty Is maIntaIneD or even enhanceD”
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the big interviewJames Bulley
What are the biggest challenges
facing LOCOG with regard to
infrastructure and London 2012?
The major challenge is the sheer scale of
the project. as the organising committee,
we don’t just have to think about building
the Olympic Park, which is a very clear
and tangible task. We’re dealing with over
100 sites and venues. These range from
competition venues and operations centres
to training grounds and places that will
welcome spectators, such as airports,
railway stations and car parks.
This obviously represents a huge
investment, both to meet the additional
requirements for existing venues and to
build new ones. The process we’ve been
going through with the Olympic Delivery
authority (ODa) and others concerns how
we refine and optimise our plans, so that
we’re spending our budget in the most
efficient way.
at the same time, one of the decisions
we took during the bid was that we were
going to deliver london 2012 with no
white elephants. Temporary facilities or
installations – what we call “overlay” –
will be used where appropriate. Wherever
possible, we only want to put in additional
facilities on a temporary basis, as opposed
to leaving behind big structures.
even though such facilities are not quite
the same in monetary terms as building an
Olympic Park, the number of projects involved
and the scope of it all make it significant. The
amount of temporary construction, in terms
of venues that we have to build and then
take down after the Games, is three times
more than all the three previous summer
Olympic Games put together.
How does the question of legacy
figure in all of this?
any venue we deliver must be underpinned
by ongoing use and a business plan. If we’re
developing a new venue, we must be sure
it is being built in the right location for use
after the Games. For example, there’s no
point building another indoor arena where
we’ve got an existing arena of the same
size nearby. For the aquatic centre,
it makes absolute sense to build it on the
chosen site: it will probably be the only
competition standard pool in london in
2012, so there’s an absolute need for it.
Where there isn’t a long-term need, we
build a temporary facility. That’s the basis
of lOCOG’s legacy planning.
at the same time, we aren’t starting
from scratch. The concept we presented to
the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
in singapore during the bidding stage
was about taking advantage of london’s
existing world-class venues – Wembley,
Wimbledon, lord’s and the Dome – and
mixing them with some famous london
landmarks. For example, having road
races set against the backdrop of locations
such as Buckingham Palace, st Paul’s
Cathedral and the Tower of london.
I think that gave the london bid
a significant advantage from the start.
add to this the new facilities that we
were proposing for the Olympic Park
and the regeneration of east london,
the big event
For the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), the story starts with the winning bid in 2005. Its main responsibility: to prepare and stage the Games. as the official engineering design services provider for london 2012, atkins is now helping to set the groundwork for the main event. James Bulley, LOCOG’s director of venues and infrastructure, offers his first-hand perspective on getting ready for...
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“THe maJOr CHaLLenGe is THe sHeer sCaLe OF THe PrOJeCT. as The OrGanIsInG COmmITTee, We DOn’T JusT have TO ThInk aBOuT BuIlDInG The OlymPIC Park, WhICh Is a very Clear anD TanGiBLe Task. We’re DealInG WITh Over 100 siTes and venues”– James Bulley, DIreCTOr OF venues anD InFrasTruCTure, lOCOG
the big event 21
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2012ulTImaTely, We hOPe ThaT IT’s GOInG TO Be an aBsOLuTeLy unique and insPiraTiOnaL Games FOr The sPeCTaTOrs WhO COme TO The CITy In
”“
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and we had a strong proposition and a
very strong legacy prospect.
another question occupying us is what
sort of legacy can we leave the marketplace,
in terms of the type of materials being used?
Temporary facilities require a lot of non-
traditional construction techniques and
materials. Whereas in previous Games a lot
of the construction for new venues was
done in steel and concrete, the creation of
these temporary facilities is anything but
“business as usual”.
We’ve set up a temporary materials
forum that’s engaging the industry and
research establishments to find alternatives
to some of the less sustainable materials
that have been used in the past. This allows
us to challenge the amount of temporary
works that we’ve got and enables us to
have quite an influence over the market in
terms of the way in which these materials
are used in future.
We set out a number of aspirations in
our bid with regard to sustainability and
I can honestly say that this will be the most
sustainable Games ever. We’re working with
a number of forums and organisations
interested in the sustainability side, which
really raises the bar in terms of how we
approach this challenge.
What lessons have been learned from
previous Olympic Games?
We’ve worked quite closely with a number of
people from previous organising committees
in evolving our plans, as well as with the IOC
and the International Paralympic Committee
(IPC). Part of this involves the transfer of
knowledge so that we’re not reinventing the
wheel and we’re using best practice. Part of it
is also to understand what we want london
2012 to be.
The Games are held in different cities
and each has its own identity based on the
host city. london 2012 is going to showcase
london. Our venues are going to be focused
in three core zones: the Central Zone, which
is in central london; the river Zone along
the Thames; and the Olympic Park. all of this
presents a showcase of london in context.
Our core concept is about relating the
new venues we’re building to the existing
architectural context. Whether you’re
watching on the Tv or whether you’re
there as a spectator, london 2012 will
capture the flavour of london as both a
modern and an historic city.
What about planning – how is
that side of things going?
From the time london was awarded the
Games to the actual staging of the event,
lOCOG has seven years in which to deliver
london 2012. The delivery of the overlay
happens in the last year, which leaves six
years to do all of the planning, designing,
operational testing and so on.
During that time we need to ensure
we have analysed everything that needs to
happen in order for london 2012 to be a
success. We have to plan for every eventuality,
which includes contingency planning. The
next two years will be about operational
planning and testing, and getting the detailed
design and procurement in place.
What about security issues? What
planning is in place and do you think it’s
a key issue for London 2012 in particular?
The day after we won the bid, london was
struck by a terrorist attack. security is central
to all of our planning and we absolutely need
to guarantee the safety of the athletes and
the spectators during the Games. everything
that we do, from venue design to operational
planning, looks at the security aspects to
ensure that we can guarantee their safety.
at the moment, it’s a joint effort between
the home Office, lOCOG and the ODa,
and follows through the full life-cycle of the
project. That co-operation and integration
is a key part of our planning. It ensures the
right measures are being put in place and
that operational plans will deliver in 2012.
What do you hope that your
participation in this will leave behind?
We very much hope that, from a venue
standpoint, we’re able to demonstrate
how to deliver an event on this scale in
a sustainable way. ultimately, we hope that
it’s going to be an absolutely unique and
inspirational Games for the spectators who
come to the city to be part of london 2012
and enjoy the Games. That’s really the best
thing we can ask for.
“any venue We DelIver musT Be underPinned By OnGOinG use anD a BusIness Plan. IF We’re DevelOPInG a neW venue, We musT Be sure iT is BeinG BuiLT in THe riGHT LOCaTiOn FOr use aFTer The Games”
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London 2012 oLympic and paraLympic Games
UK & europe: Woodcote Grove, Ashley Road, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5BW, UK, T: +44 (0)1372 726140asia pacific: 46th Floor, Raffles City, 268 Xi Zang Zhong Lu, Shanghai 200001, People’s Republic of China, T: +86 21 6122 5100
middle east and india: PO Box 5620, Dubai, UAE, T: +971 4405 9300americas: 2925 Briarpark Drive, Suite 550, Houston, TX 77042, USA, T: +1 832 476 3300 p
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“The London 2012 olympic and paralympic Games represent a chance for Atkins to take part in something bigger than itself, and to take its
place on the world stage, alongside all those involved”
oUrenGineerinGdesiGnjoUrney
www.atkinsglobal.com