team N2

Site overview from the South-East.

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team N2
Integrated landscape and Hub design
Much as the South Parks 2012 Gardens celebrate the British love of plants from around the world, inspired by Victorian pleasure gardens, our landscape palette intends to explore and celebrate our rich ecological heritage. We have taken the theme of life cycle and ecology to inspire our design approach to the Hub and playground. In response to the powerful and sculptural topography of the wider North parkland, three tensioned and dynamic landforms have been set up to respond to this context and take the form of an unfurling leaf, with the Hub forming the hinge point and focus. Using the design language of the staged timber seating used throughout the wider parkland, which accentuate and transform the fluid landforms and add layers of human inhabitation, the Hub repeats and builds upon these forms to develop the building volumes. Set back from the street, views of the Hub will be seen across an expansive species rich meadow whose landform guides the visitor to the entrance following a low mound, which forms a threshold between east west connection and park. The mound is overlaid with stepped timber ribbons, which increase in height to form the volume containing the buildings ancillary spaces. The south facing external seating forms spill out space for the caf, animating the south facade. From this location the Hub will benefit from views not only at city level to the Olympic venues, but also past the large scale mound of planted birch woodland and beyond the River Lea and the riverine landscape. A large solitary tree marks the building entrance and the beginning of the existing line of trees, accentuating pathway and swale beyond. The building is designed as an extension of the landscape, internal and external spaces read together. Local meadow species blown in on the wind will naturally colonise the brown roof above the services spine to become a rich ecological habitat in its own right. The smooth but robust weathered hardwood lining forming the external seating and service spine cladding extends into the interior of the building. The building has been designed to limit the need for mechanical services by getting the physical form of the building to provide most of the environmental control and in this way that building is doing more and architecture is working with nature. The caf and multipurpose room volumes are arranged either side of the ancillary spine. Their gently sloping timber roof planes relate to the dynamic and directionality of the landforms and frame views into the landscape. Generous roof overhangs and the continuity of the paved floor finish blur the transition between inside and outside. The character of vertical structural elements and detailing of the timber cladding are developed in dialogue with the surrounding tree planting. The interior of the hub is characterised by the warmth and texture of timber. All rooms are naturally lit, key rooms like the foyer, caf and multipurpose room are lit from two sides. The vertical faade cladding acts as shading device and creates an animated play of shadow and light. Reception desk and some simple built in seating and platforms in the cafe and multi-purpose room storage are designed as an extension of the external seating features intensifying the connections with the landscape and signalling inhabitation and usability. The external spaces are an extension of the building and have been designed to allow as much flexible use as possible. Similar to the southern side the northern elevation of the building forms a generous external caf seating area, which also includes space for future building expansion, if the caf proved to be a success. The caf spill out space is defined by the mound with stepped seating on the eastern and the line of trees, swale and pathway on the western side. It allows for natural surveillance of the under 5s sand and water play area, which runs along the existing swale site boundary. The eastern volume contains the multi-purpose community room, which opens onto a large but intimate grass lawn, enclosed by hazel woodland. The large grass area will become a natural gathering space for families to picnic and enjoy the hub and play space. It is also large enough to receive small scale community gatherings, house stalls or a marquee and spill out space for weddings and community events.

View of hub building from South. Section.

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Plan.

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10 2 11 15 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 cafe cafe covered external space kitchen reception foyer admin staff accessible WC and shower security teapoint prayer room part M WCs and baby change female WCs male WCs services storage multipurpose room mp r covered external space 12 17 13 14 14 16

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View of hub building from North play area.

team N2

Entering the hub.

View through the multi purpose room towards hazel woodland.

Site constraints

Functionality
co ex vere te rn d al
external covered group room group room external covered seating cafe stage external covered
prayer changing or other

Future extension

Future sub-division

Environmental performance
Southwest Trough provides wind pressure equalisation allows natural extract Northeast Air out through controlled openings within clearstory Solar photovoltaic panels on roof Possible openings within roof pitch direct light

external covered bar

dj

cafe

dancefloor cloaks

dining

events lawn

foyer welcome cloaks

dining

cafe events lawn

cafe cafe

Adjustable sun & shade control multipurpose space

external covered

Air in

District heating main connection provides heat 600

catering services nobuilt zone haul road covered external

dancefloor dj / bar catering tent deliveries Air path through beam & block floor

deliveries

The hub is sited to the north of the services no-built zone. Hub, landforms and play equipment is sited avoiding the haul road.

Built in multipurpose room subdivision.

Performance.

Large scale event taking over the whole hub.

Large scale event taking over parts of the hub.

All three building volumes could easily be extended in both directions.

A new corridor would allow further subdivision of the multipurpose room.

Environmental performance through passive principles - Ambient air drawn in between beam and block floor. - Thermal mass of ground and concrete at stable temperature. - Air cooled as it passes through the floor structure. - Controlled natural ventilation through low and high level vents. - Building envelope constructed to high air-tightness standard. - Controllable mix of direct & diffuse natural light for delight & stimulation.

Structure & Fabric

An array of helical steel piles is installed under the footprint of the building.

The piles are connected with pre-fabricated ground beams from which a floor constructed from precast concrete elements is suspended.

Timeline
Weeks 2-3 Weeks 3-5

A panelised timber system of prefabricated wall (and roof) panels is installed. The system can be prefabricated to varying degrees of completion. It can arrive with insulation, finishes and services installed.

The roof panels are installed as part of the prefabricated timber system.

The sloping roofs of the caf and multipurpose room are covered with metal roofing. An area of PV foil is installed to the caf roof. The lower horizontal roof of the services spine is constructed as biodiversity roof.

The mound adjacent to the building is constructed. The biodiversity roof is planted with the same plant cover as the adjacent mound. All other landscaping work (off the haul road) is carried out concurrently with the construction of the building.

Weeks 5-6

Weeks 6-7

Weeks 7-15

team N2

Concept

Using native ecology as our key tenet, we have created a series of landscape character areas which tell life cycle stories - from the pioneer birch and hazel woodlands through to climax pine forest and the developmental stages in between. Interweaved with this is the play layer which uses these stories to inspire bespoke play and potential event opportunities within each space.

Hazel copse

We are proposing a pioneer copse of hazel woodland to enclose the event lawn to the east. The copse will be augmented by rich woodland under-storey planting, with informal weaving paths of bark mulch to create a magical play setting to explore and discover. To manage the hazel wood effectively it would be coppiced in rotation every 7 years. The harvested wood could then be actively used by children to create dens, undertake arts and crafts activities and encourage children and adults to learn about the wood and its folklore through environmental workshops and seasonal play activities.

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Den making and bug hotels

Moving out of the woodlands groups of hazel and rowan trees are set within grassy glades providing space for den making activities. Enabling children to manipulate their environment is a key requirement in rich play making. Long serpentine walls of log piles are proposed to provide playful hide and seek elements, whilst also performing a valuable role for insects and invertebrates by creating bug hotels and places to find and observe mini beasts.

View of den building area.

Seed heads play

Beyond here, close to the Hub, are a series of large scale artist-craftsman made timber/stone seed heads that have been dispersed by wind from other trees and plants across the Olympic Park site. These are tactile play elements, which children can interact with, take bark rubbings, use as informal seats, as well as learn about key botanical and life cycle messages.

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Sand + water play

The design of the sand and water play is inspired by the industrial heritage of the River Lea as a key navigation route. The braided landform inlaid with layers of fine gravels mimics the rivers overall morphology in miniature with water criss crossing the area in a series of riverine tributaries, while children are encouraged to dam, flood and manage the flow of water through a set of weirs, locks and sluice gates becoming their own water engineers. The water is then filtered for sand and redirected to irrigate plant beds with any excess directed into the existing western swale to be filtered by the marshland habitats.
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View of water play area.

The life cycle story of plants

Alongside the sand and water play is a long bank of richly banded planting which will continue the story of life cycle and succession, whilst also providing a colourful and sensory plant-based play element. Visually this will be a very attractive element of the play environment giving children a sense of time, seasonality and successional change, which again could be actively interpreted through environmental education workshops.

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The pine forest

The final climax planting of our narrative is told through a group of Scots Pine set along the central raised landform. Using a play surface of natural pine cones, the play opportunities here are based on high level climbing and platform walkways using timber structures that mimic the form and habit of the pine to create billowy cloud-like enclosures high up amongst the real tree top canopies. This will be a physical and challenging play element attracting the 8-12 age group. Clear views of the wider North Parklands would be obtained, giving good observational and orienteering opportunities.

Large scale swings

Along the edge of the raised landform and pine forest are a series of large scale and robust swings, which groups of children and teenagers can use. These together with the pine forest play installations and the adjacent skate park and rockscape mark an increase in speed, intensity and physicality in the play offer to provide meaningful play challenges for older children, teenagers and young adults.

View of pine forest play structures.

Rock landscape

The final element in our narrative is the creation of a bare rock landscape where our cyclical life cycle starts once more. Bands of graded shales and gravels set within a textured concrete surface traverse across the area, bordered by broad bands of meadow and grass planting, low scrub and birch trees, and large swathes of grass. Within these bands remnant industrial artefacts and rusting steel can be discovered, linking the site back to its former industrial heritage. Set amongst these artefacts are a group of large scale monolithic boulders which can be used for climbing and parcour activities. The focus of the area will be a large, bespoke, competition grade skate park set in the landscape like a piece of archaeology buried below the surface. This physical and challenging element will appeal to older children, teenagers and young adults and could become a destination skate park across the London region for competitions and connect well with other activities linked to the Velodrome.

Hub building 1 Events lawn 2 Hazel Copse 3 Den making & bug hotel 4 Movement area 5 Seed heads play 6 Sand & water play 7 Life cycle story of plants 8 The pine forest 9 Large scale swings 10 Rock Landscape 11 Skate park 12

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View of rock landscape.

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Landscape masterplan.

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