The move signals a drastic u-turn on the original legacy plan for the Olympics, which envisaged the stadium as a semi-temporary venue which would be converted into a smaller, 25,000-capacity sports school and athletic ground in ‘legacy mode’.
According to the Evening Standard, [legacy chief Baroness] Ford said she was convinced the ‘beautiful’ stadium could pay its way as an all-year ‘visitor attraction’ and become part of London’s ‘iconic offer’.
As a result, stadium designers Populous - formerly HOK Sport - could be asked to rework the scheme which is already well under construction.
The original plan for post-Olympics adaptive reuse had received critical acclaim, as many other Olympic hosts have struggled to make use of Olympic structures after the event is over. The new move to make the stadium permanent could make major waves in London's legacy plan, which had envisioned the Olympic campus becoming a mixed use residential and parks district after the games.
Stadium faces redesign in drastic London Olympic rethink
The Arhcitects' Journal
June 29, 2009
