Broadcast Centre: Bike Store Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
During the design of the London 2012 Olympic venues, material efficiency measures were adopted in the building design. This strategy in terms of use of materials has been continued during the development of Here East within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, favouring natural materials with a high recycle potential.
The former Broadcast Centre is now home to BT Sport and Loughborough University and The Gantry area which runs along the North-East elevation is being remodelled as a series of one-off creative studios, providing workspace and support for artists.
Lang+Fulton have supplied a large bike store covering an area of 217 sq metres. The structure has a height of 4.7 metres at the apex to accommodate a stacking system for a large number of bicycles. Security was an obvious concern and the grating panels were used on all four walls as well as forming a pitched roof. A Stretto-11 grating was chosen with a small 132×11 mm mesh but with sufficient natural ventilation and through-visibility for daylight and to ensure that any criminal activity could be observed. The Stretto-11 panels were rotated so that the bearing bar was horizontal in order to deliver the architect’s preferred aesthetic.
A laser-cut graphic of a bicycle was added as a decorative feature.
Panels and posts were supplied in a hot-dip galvanized finish.
Architect: Hawkins\Brown
Installation: Lakesmere Group
Product: Stretto-11
