South Park Plaza at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Built on the grounds of the London 2012 Olympic Games, South Park Plaza at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP) was conceived as a 21st Century “Pleasure Garden”. Whereas the northern half of QEOP is defined by extensive green spaces, vegetated hills and plateaus, nature trails and wetlands, the southern half is defined by its eventfulness, creative programming and multi-cultural attractions. The South Park Plaza of QEOP was once almost entirely paved as the main concourse for the Olympic Games.

The Plaza is now a place of event, entertainment, activity and discovery, featuring 11.3 hectares of open space, including the 12m wide, tree-lined “Arc Promenade”, a new spine and social centrepiece of the park, hung with beautiful spherical lanterns and linking a series of exciting spaces designed to inspire creativity in people of all ages. These flexible “Event Rooms” are surrounded by a diverse “Planting Ribbon”, building on the plantmanship started with the Games-time Olympic Park, and utilizing tall textural grasses and perennials that effectively create the feeling of outdoor ‘rooms’ of different sizes for socialization and programming. 2. Role of the Landscape Architect: describe the precise role and responsibility of the LI professional member and the role of all other significant participants including owner or client.

As the Landscape Architect of Record, LDA Design delivered the final construction documents and specifications, and oversaw construction of the work on a day-to-day basis. James Corner Field Operations created the design vision and led the team’s efforts through the design and approval stages. The LLDC established the highly aspirational brief and ensured that the quality of delivery (both of design and of construction) was at the highest level.

Overview

  • Project Name

    South Park Plaza at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

  • Location

    London

  • Category

    Parks and gardens

  • Landscape Architect

    LDA Design Consulting Ltd

  • Client

    London Legacy Development Corporation

  • Brief

    The London Legacy Development Corporation’s (LLDC) brief for South Park Plaza was to create a 21st Century Pleasure Garden - a must see, must revisit destination that could be host to a rolling programme of events and attractions. In this way, South Park would build on London’s great tradition of pleasure gardens - from Vauxhall and Marylebone, to Ranelagh and Cremorne - each destination parks renowned for their beautiful landscapes, cultural attractions, mystery, dreaminess, surprise and fun. The Design Team was tasked to transform the expansive hardscape of the Olympic concourse into the programmatic centre of the wider Park. As the centre of activity, the design for South Park Plaza was to offer something for everyone in the park, whether the diverse communities of East London, regional visitors or international tourists, a place they want to visit equally for its entertainment and cultural offerings as well as to just stroll and passively enjoy. Technically, the South Park Plaza design also had to take account of the physical and operational constraints such as Stadium events and crowd flow, servicing the attractions and facilities, the existing permanent landscape edges, adjacent future development, and major utility runs through and to the east and south of the site. Finally, the design must also integrate fully with the existing landscape design including using, where appropriate and relevant, the details and materials already employed on the park.</

  • Awards

    Shortlisted for an LI Award 2015

Details

  • Project Team

    PROJECT LEAD, DESIGN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: James Corner Field Operations (New York) | DETAIL DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION: LDA Design | TEAM CONSULTANTSUrban Design & Landscape Architecture: James Corner Field Operations; Prime Contractor: Skanska; Landscape Contractor: Willerby Landscape; Detail Design and Implementation: LDA Design; Engineering Services: Arup, Inc; Cost estimating: Deloitte; Water Feature Design: Fountain Workshop, LTD; Event Consultant: Groundbreaking; Architecture: Make Architects; Planting Design: Piet Oudolf; Playground Consultant: Play Link; Lighting Design: Speirs + Major; Detailed Lighting Design: Michael Grubb Studio; Art/Identity Tomato; Irrigation Design: Waterwise Solutions Ltd.

  • Year Completed

    0001

  • Project Size

    11.3ha

  • Contract Value

    '£21m

  • Additional Information

    The South Park Plaza is an exceptional public realm project for a number of reasons. First, the project required impressive foresight to prepare and imagine the Olympic concourse as a vivid and celebrated destination park. Second, the delivery of the project required interagency collaboration on a massive scale, including participation and approvals by governing bodies, utility providers and the ODA and LLDC administrations. Third, the project achieves an extraordinary blend of environmental, social, and economic benefits for East London and the Lower Lea Valley. And, finally, the project was delivered in an exceptionally aggressive schedule for a total of 28 months from the start of design, through permitting and approvals, tendering and implementation.

  • LDA Design Consulting Ltd

    Registered Practice - (21 + Employees)
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  • Approximate Map Location

    Location

    London

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