Supporting a uK SucceSS Story: The impacT of - Research Councils ...

Role of drawing in the Olympic Games
A research bursary in the Role of Drawing in the
Olympic Games, based at the University of the
Arts London, will explore the role drawing played
in the planning exercise for the 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games. From the colour of the
walls in the Athletes’ Village to the plants in
Olympic Park; from the buttons on the Officials’
blazers to the way in which people move
through the Olympic Stadium, every detail will
have been meticulously considered. One thing
these considerations have in common is that
they all once existed as simple drawings, handpenned
propositions or Illustrator mock-ups. This
research project is designed to explore these
decisions by looking at the role of drawing in the
Olympic Games.
Science-based planting will bring
long-term benefits
London’s Olympic Park is Europe’s largest new urban park for 150 years. The ambitious long-term
vision for the site is to create a world-class visitor destination for the Games and transform it into a
park for local communities over the next two years. Professors Nigel Dunnett and James Hitchmough
from the University of Sheffield were appointed principal horticultural and planting-design consultants.
The Olympic Park presented an unusual challenge because the whole area is bound by a Biodiversity
Action Plan (BAP). It was a condition of planning consent that the park provides 50 hectares of new
habitat for wildlife, which means that almost all the green space on the site has had to contribute to
the BAP. The Park and sporting venues will have several million visitors each day during the Games, so
creating spaces that can meet people’s aesthetic and recreational needs and support biodiversity in
the long-term was a major challenge.
“Creating spaces that can
meet people’s aesthetic
and recreational needs
and support biodiversity in
the long-term was a major
challenge. ”
The Sheffield team’s solution was based on years
of experience and long-term scientific evidence.
Their clever design and plant choices will enable the
vegetation to evolve or be adapted during the twoyear
legacy phase when the games are over. The
Natural Environment Research Council’s Biodiversity
in Urban Gardens (BUGS) project provided insights
into the value of urban gardens for native biodiversity
and the benefits of different mixes of native and
exotic plants. More information came from the longterm
observation of native vegetation at Bibury near
Gloucester; maintained by Sheffield since the 1970s.
This is one of the longest, continuously monitored
ecological experiments in the UK.
The result is a Park of two distinct parts. The bigger North Park has an informal, ‘country park’ feel and
reflects native UK habitats, including the largest area of wet woodland habitat in the UK, and speciesrich
meadows which are a magnet to pollinating insects. Meanwhile the South Park, which includes the
main Olympic stadium, has a more urban feel, with an emphasis on visual drama.
SECTION THREE : DESIGN 41