Overview

The South Park, with its legacy of 2012 Games-time venues and infrastructure, will evolve over time to become an enticing destination within the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.  The South Park Landscape Masterplan and Hub will be central to the success of this area attracting visitors and local residents.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company seeks to commission a design team through this two-stage competition to produce a landscape masterplan with an integrated building or set of buildings for this pivotal area within the Park.

Initially Expressions of Interest are sought following which five to seven teams will be shortlisted.

The site is located within the branches of the River Lea and links four spectacular attractions in the immediate vicinity: the 114m tall ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture, the landmark Aquatics Centre, the Olympic Stadium and the London 2012 Gardens.

The ArcelorMittal Orbit, designed by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond, is a continuous, looping lattice of tubular steel.  It is expected to be one of the world’s most dramatic attractions, drawing up to one million visitors with its stunning views of London.

This project must create a strong landscape framework for an area where the surrounding land will remain undeveloped in the medium term.

The intention is to make a spectacular, lively, public landscape which will host activities, events and attractions and which will be a destination for locals, Londoners and tourists, as well as visitors to the new Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.

Crucially the scheme needs to balance high quality permanent landscape with flexible, well-designed urban spaces that can continually change, support a variety of activities, and shrink and expand, in response to an evolving development context.

These spaces will need to be freely accessible, drawing visitors and locals through a dynamic programme of events and attractions. The project should incorporate and support a vibrant waterfront and draw inspiration from Europe’s tradition of pleasure gardens and from the successes of places such as Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens or London’s Southbank.

The project includes a landscape masterplan which will encompass a large portion of the South Park and provide a framework both for existing venues, including the 2012 Gardens, as well as future activities and events.

The building (or buildings) must be of the highest design quality and are important in creating a sense of place;  their ‘fit’ with the landscape offers an opportunity for collaboration and fresh thinking across a multi-disciplinary team including expertise in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design and engineering.

The South Hub will be particularly important as an anchor for visitors to the Park and ArcelorMittal Orbit as it includes a primary arrival point from Stratford International, the DLR and tube lines via the new Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will offer a new experience of living and working in London; a place where global attractions, revitalised waterways and parkland co-exist with emerging new east London neighbourhoods. It will provide families and individuals with the opportunity to live and work close by.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company is the public sector not-for-profit company, responsible for the long term planning, development, management and maintenance of London’s Olympic Park after the 2012 Games.

To find out more about the Company and its vision for the Park, visit www.legacycompany.co.uk.  

Note : Elements of the project will be delivered to tight cost and programme parameters and competitors will be expected to demonstrate that they fully understand these constraints.

For further information please go to downloads.