The competition was for multi-disciplined teams including structural engineers, architects, designers and landscape architects to design the footbridge which will span 26m over Carpenters Lock on the River Lea Waterway. The bridge will be located on the central pedestrian concourse in the Olympic Park – a key link between the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Basketball Arena.

Following a strong response by more than 46 teams, the ODA has announced a shortlist of six teams:

• McDowell+Benedetti, Jane Wernick Associates, Craft Pegg and Sutton Vane Associates
• Hparc architects and Adams Kara Taylor Engineers
• Ron Arad Associated, Buro Happold and BBUK Studio
• Softroom and Eckersley O’Callaghan
• Future Systems and Adams Kara Taylor
• Tonkin Liu, Atelier One, Grant Associates and BDP Sustainability

The shortlisted teams will now be asked to develop concept design proposals for the permanent and temporary bridges and the immediate surrounding landscape. After the Games the structure will feature two permanent separate spans over the River Lea, each 6.5m wide.

Brandisaster 2012: The London Olympics

Failure succeeds for London 2012 logo
International Herald Tribune: Has any marketer ever gotten more for its money than the London Olympics organizers when they introduced a new logo for the 2012 Games? All right, some of the descriptions in the British tabloids – a “toileting monkey,” a “broken swastika” – were less than kind. And the news that a video about the emblem caused epileptic seizures was hardly a public relations dream. For the most part, however, the logo introduction was a textbook example of marketing in the Web 2.0 era. More…

The 2012 Olympic Logo: A rant
From a commentary by Coudal Partners , a Chicago-based design agancy: “The London 2012 Olympic logo was revealed yesterday, and it seems to be almost universally loathed. Even designers seem reluctant to defend it. We posted a link to the BBC story this morning with no comment aside from, ‘Hmmmm.’ Just like you, our first reaction was shock. But we talked about it all morning. By 3pm, we decided we love it. And here are ten reasons why you should, too.” More…

‘A puerile mess and a commercial scandal’
Stephen Bayley comments in The Telegraph: “Mesmerised as if confronting a nasty incident in traffic, we gaze at the Olympic logo. It is a puerile mess, an artistic flop and a commercial scandal. There are a thousand small design studios who could have done a better job for much less money. But muddled national enterprises tend to get the logos they deserve.” More…

Why we should give London 2012 logo a chance
BBC Sport Editor’s blog: “London 2012’s new logo has got the country talking – not in the manner the organisers would have hoped – but it has certainly made a splash, which may not be a bad thing in the long run.” More…

Why the 2012 Olympics logo is shit
Chris Applegate of qwghlm.co.uk (apparently so named “because all the other domain names were taken”) explains why the 2012 logo is unsuitable for the internet, despite London 2012’s claims that it was designed with things like the internet in mind. More…

‘Oh no’ logo
BBC News: It has received a mauling from the public, but what do branding experts make of the new Olympics 2012 logo? Talk about pressure. This is a logo which took a year to design and has to help raise £2bn of private money to pay for the running of the Games. More…

The EDAW consortium, together with Arup and Atkins will form an integrated team to develop the design. The consortium, which produced the award-winning masterplan that helped London win the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, comprises: EDAW PLC, Buro Happold, Foreign Office Architects, HOK Sport, and Allies & Morrison.

The team, led by Jason Prior, Principal of EDAW, will work with the Interim Olympic Delivery Authority to further develop the Olympic Park masterplan and begin to design all the infrastructure elements that will make up the Park including utilities, waterways, drainage, landscape, roads and bridges. The team will not design the Olympic venues or Athletes Village, which will be tendered separately.

David Higgins, Chief executive-designate of the Olympic Delivery Authority, said: ‘Getting the site infrastructure and landscape right is a key task for the Olympic Delivery Authority over the next two years. It is not only critical for the Games but also to frame one of the most significant regeneration legacies for a generation. This will create a major new Park for London that after the Games will become a new quarter of the capital for Londoners to live, work and play.’

Jason Prior, Principal, EDAW, said: ‘The plans that we worked so hard to put together for the bid are now going to be taken forward. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any landscape architect and I am absolutely thrilled.’

Keith Mills, Chief Executive of London 2012, said: “This is an outstanding design that will create a spectacular building, delivering the essential ‘wow’ factor for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. It will then be cleverly transformed following the Games by taking away the majority of the 20,000 seats, which will not be needed, turning it into more intimate spaces suitable for community use. It gives the community a lasting sporting legacy.”

Lord Rogers, of the Richard Rogers Partnership, who co-chaired the Panel that chose the design, said: “This building has an exceptional sculptural quality that will make it a wonderful building to visit, attracting people to East London. It sets the standard for architectural quality in this key regeneration area.”

The Aquatics Centre design includes two 50m competition pools and a competition diving pool. It also has 20,000 spectator seats and all the ‘back of house’ facilities required for an Olympic Games. The design will especially appeal to swimmers during the Olympic Games because each pool has an arena around it for spectators, creating a unique atmosphere.

After the Games, the centre design can be converted, with the pools dividing into different spaces, making it easy for community and elite swimmers of different abilities to use. The centre will also have an extensive health and fitness area to contribute to the long-term viability of the building.

Zaha Hadid website: www.zaha-hadid.com