Top of the World
The London Aquatics Centre is an indoor facility with two 50-metre swimming pools and a 25-metre diving pool, located in London. It was one of the main venues for the London 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The centre was designed by architect Zaha Hadid and is located in the Stratford Olympic Park in east London. The structure is 45 metres high, 160 metres long and 80 metres wide. The London Aquatics Centre designed by Zaha Hadid Architects is inspired by the fluid form of moving water, designing interior and exterior spaces that dialogue with the context of the London Olympic Park. The centre develops in plan along two axes perpendicular to Stratford City Bridge, along which the three swimming pools are developed. The training pool is located under the bridge, while the competition pool and the diving pool are housed in a larger volume. The guiding principle was to frame the pool spaces as podiums and connect them to the bridge. The element of the podium, which rises from the level of the bridge to descend to the level of the pools, allows the different elements to be contained within a single architectural volume, which seems to be at one with the bridge and the landscape.
