@ Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

LEISURE LAB

Concept
Londons Leisure Lab at the Olympic Park will be established as a new type of urban park reflecting contemporary life. We see this innovative type of urban park as a laboratory where the varied and diverse elements of the city and the surrounding neighbourhoods come together to interact in dynamic ways, creating new relationships and unexpected connections to the urban environment. THE LEISURE LAB is responsive to the flux of urban conditions, a place that is evolving and changing over time, and a place that as its name implies fosters innovation. It will be a park that combines cultural, environmental and recreational activities. We see the Leisure Lab as an overlay to the entire Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park focussing on the Hub and South Park. We see it as a concept that will provide a dynamic linkage between North and South Park areas, and linkage to the surrounding neighbourhoods. Leisure is a necessary part of daily life and we see it as the driving force in thinking about the design of the Olympic Park. In the 19th Century the great urban parks were created as leafy respites within the industrial city where city residents could have access to sunlight and fresh air and could relax from the daily labour of physical work. The contemporary city and its residents have many similar needs, but increasingly urban parks are called upon to provide new types of leisure based on active programming, physical activity, an emphasis on health and wellness and access to culture. Urban parks today increasingly serve as catalysts for urban redevelopment and neighbourhood regeneration. The Leisure Lab at the Olympic Park is envisioned as a place for environmental renewal, active programming and establishing links to neighbourhoods and history.

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NORTH PARK

The Leisure Lab-Mobile A key concept of the Leisure Lab is to extend the park beyond its boundaries to provide park services to local neighbouring areas. The Leisure Lab-Mobile will be a specially outfitted motorised vehicle or series of vehicles that are envisioned as a mobile classroom to be used for park outreach efforts.

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AQUATIC CENTER

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WATERDEN ROAD

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MULTI-USE ARENA

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PUDDING MILL

FISH ISLAND

HACKNEY WICK

The Leisure Lab serves as a link and makes connections as a regional park hub.

Floating Meadow Land Bridges and Waterfalls We are proposing to reuse several of the temporary bridge structures that serve as remnants of the Olympic events. These Floating Meadows will not provide pedestrianaccess but will visually carry the landscape of the park across the rivers and reinforce the connections of the park out to the neighbouring areas. Waterfalls will function as spectacles, while aerating the river Lea .

team S1: board 1

Leisure Lab - Landscape

The Leisure Lab is proposed as a kit of parts of design strategies and programmes that draw their approach from biology, a kind of bio-mimicry. We imagine the design operating in the manner of DNA with a basic set of forms and functions that are recombinant in their applications, thus ensuring a system that is both predictable and flexible while its applications are adaptable. We have taken the idea of cell structure when creating the subdivisions of the parks spaces and used the notions of cells fulfilling specific functions as an organising device for programming the park. This provides a flexible structure for responding to changes over time, changing functions or programs, and incorporation of temporary and interim uses as part of the park programme. The Leisure Labs landscape consists of typologies that are recognisable but combined in ways that create interesting juxtapositions and settings for a diverse programme. Each typology provides a unique quality ranging from open lawns and meadows to tree groves and thickets. An emphasis has been placed on creating distinctive landscapes that are growing and changing over time. Seasonality, access to sun and shade, colour, texture and fragrance all are part of the landscape design. Plants have been selected that will perform well in the London environment. A mix of quickgrowing plantings is combined with a backbone of long-lived heritage plantings in order to give the park an immediate impact with a strong planting armature over time.

gateway gardens v Lushly planted, ceremonial pedestrian connection to SouthPark from the Westfield Mall / Stratford town v centre. While designed to be a place for a leisurely stroll v and display gardens, it has the capacity to accommodate large event crowds. v v terrain play v An interim, experiential play area which is designed to v be low-impact. The sculpted landform and meandering system to v routing park in aenables the usersway.discover the elements of the non-prescribed v v water play v v v events lawn Lea Waterworks River overlook pavilion prayer carpenters lock v v v v v v v v v v juice-bar
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floating meadow land bridge and waterfall

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The bridge infrastructure is exposed and is softened with a planting palate reminiscent of the moorlands and waterfall installation.

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aquatics centre

paved events site v An interim, unstructured space that venue for special events, v will provide aopen area activities. markets and v v v v v v

health and wellness gardens v v v v v v v v

lawn sports

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stadium

river get-down
This amphitheatre-like space will provide social-scaled environments that encourage interaction between the river and people

The Wedges functions as a contemporary Garden Mount, and provides space for recreation and performances for park visitors.

Literally 2k bench. It stretches across the length of the entire site.

the wedges

2k bench

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linear ramble

Lea City Mill River

reception grove
Bike racks and lockers

arcelormittal orbit

reading pavilion
Visitors will be able to gather together at long reading tables or may choose to read alone along the continuous bench.

a-maze-ing meadow

team S1: board 2

Leisure Lab - Pavilions

The design team chose to distribute the park's building programme in a series of pavilions across the site rather than concentrate all program areas into a single hub building. By spreading the program throughout the park, the design creates a series of encounters that support the expanded life of the entire park, not just the environs immediately around the Orbit or other primary Olympic venues. This provides greater connectivity within the park and also creates connections to the Lea Valley and East London neighbourhoods. Program-specific pavilions are better able to support the specific areas of the Leisure Lab's planned sports fields, open meadows, contemplative prayer spaces and other landscape districts. The pavilions respond to the needs of the current plan and their flexible floor plans will allow the pavilions to accommodate other programme areas and meet user needs in the future.

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overlook pavilion v v v v v non-denominational prayer pavilion juice bar pavilion

lawn sports pavilion

The Lawn Sports Pavilion includes a sports equipment rental for the parks recreational activities. At this pavilion, the bench expands to form a series of bleachers for spectators.

health and wellness pavilion

reception & ticketing pavilion retail pavilion

caf pavilion

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The Caf Pavilion includes a concession stand, inside table seating with views out to the park, and outdoor table seating encircled by the 2K Bench.

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reading pavilion wc

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lawn wedge

The Wedges occupy the elevated terrain of the Belvedere providing recreation and performance opportunities for park visitors. The pair of wedges are elevated earthworks that function as a contemporary Garden Mount, providing a super-elevated vantage point in the larger landscape. These solid forms are made of recycled concrete retaining walls, recycled earthen fill, and broad open lawns on their roof surface, to visually recall geologic rock formations as well as early built earthen fortifications including barrows and mottes.

The Wedges

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2K Bench

office pavilion arcelormittal orbit

maze pavilion

caf wedge

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The 2K Bench is literally a two-kilometre-long feature that runs through the park and functions as a core element in the Linear Ramble. The continuous bench stretches across the entire length of the park, connecting and framing different landscape cells. The bench is not simply passive park furniture but instead creates and supports a multitude of activities and functions throughout the park. Breaks would occur at transverse pathways and at sufficient intervals for ease of movement through the park in many directions.

team S1: board 3

Leisure Lab - Sustainability Framework

Our sustainability programme emphasises the role of the Park as an environmental resource, catalyst for neighbourhood renewal, and an agent for social equity. We have approached the design of the Park and its transformation from Olympic site to post-Olympic park as one of low impact development, reusing and recycling as much material resource as possible. And, we have emphasised Green Systems, application of the most advanced and efficient building and landscape systems.

health and wellness gardens v v v v v v v v v v v v v

interim use area

terrain play v v v v v low impact finished grades at v Terrain Play v the landform grading is informed v excavation of the Olympic v by the Polo building removal v Water v v v v v v v v

paved events site v v v v < < < < < < repurposed tarmac at Gateway Gardens the existing tarmac surface will become a canvas v for a painted graphic pattern which will be visible v from the Orbit. v v v v recirculation of v water at Waterfalls v to decrease symptoms of eutrophication and v v hypoxia due to lack of water flow and turbulence, v v The Waterfalls function as aerators for the Lea v River and its tributaries. v interim use area v retain lighting at Leisure Lab v lighting features from the Games condition will v v remain to be used v decrease urban heat island effect at Leisure Lab Allee v native trees provide shade to v impervious surfaces promoting thermal comfort for park visitors v v v v v v v v v v v v v v

reuse fill materials on site at Wedge

the structural fill of the wedges is comprised of recycled tarmac. The amphitheatre steps are made of salvaged concrete bridge planks.

reuse material at Getdown

Water improvement of water quality. Materialssalvaged, low impact, recycled, ecologically engineered and waste neutral life cycle. Natureenhanced biodiversity and ecological connections. Peopleactivities and experiences that foster physical, social and cultural well-being.
the broad terraced steps are made of salvaged concrete planks from South Parks dismantled temporary bridges.

repurpose existing tarmac

2 Year Planting Visual Interest Conceptual Graph:

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Planting
A diverse planting palette will be introduced that is contextual and biodiverse. Appropriate plants species will be selected and planted according to a communities approach that emphasises grouping plants according to hydric regime, soil and microclimate.

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/ JAN / FEB / MAR / APR / MAY / JUN / JUL / AUG / SEP / OCT / NOV / DEC / JAN / FEB / MAR / APR / MAY / JUN / JUL / AUG / SEP / OCT / NOV / DEC / PLANTINGS VISUAL INTEREST THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

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connect to greenspace

repurpose existing tarmac v v v

interim use area

repurpose existing bridge at temporary bridges

select temporary bridge structures are repurposed rather than demolished, to create habitat

repurpose existing tarmac

Planting Typologies:

line

grove

orchard

thicket

meadow

team S1: board 4