“How do you create
package that looks at the bigger picture, Temporary thinking
sOMeWhere neW anD
supporting cycling and walking, for example. Preparations for London 2012 represent one
it can be a way of achieving both social and of the largest single mobilisations of people
excitinG, sOMeWhere physical wellbeing.” and resources in Britain in the past 0 years.
PeOPLe Want tO Visit But
“the question is: how do you create More than nine million visitors are expected to
that stiLL BeLOnGs tO the
somewhere new and exciting, somewhere buy tickets for the Games, in which 10,500
people want to visit but that still belongs to Olympic and ,200 Paralympic athletes will
PeOPLe LiVinG in the LOcaL
the people living in the local boroughs?” take part. as well as its role in preparing the
BOrOuGhs? we want to
adds armitt. “We want to produce London site for the 2012 Olympic and
something that adds to the community.” Paralympic Games, atkins has also won the
produce sometHIng tHat
creating new landscapes for new lives has contract to provide all the engineering design
adds to tHe communIty”
big implications for the people – engineers, services for the temporary facilities that are
planners and architects – whose job it is to needed to stage the Games.
– JOhn arMitt, chairMan, ODa
breathe life into those projects. these facilities – of which there are
“they have to be technically compliant, around 100 – are scattered across the
but they also need more rounded skills,” country. they include venues at the Olympic
he says. “they need to empathise with Park, up to 15 competition venues along the
the other disciplines working on the project river thames and around London, with
and be willing to go the extra mile to further venues in Glasgow, cardiff,
achieve real design quality. for example, very Manchester, newcastle, Birmingham and
little of a civil engineer’s work can be seen by Weymouth. some 50 non-competition and
the public. But where it does show, it needs training venues are also included in the deal.
to be part of the public realm, part of the creating high-profile temporary
physical architecture of the Olympic Park, infrastructure is familiar territory for atkins. 7
for example, or the streetscape.” the company’s portfolio includes civil projects
no development site is a blank canvas, as well as military contracts, such as one with
of course. Brownfield city sites in particular the British army that includes camps in
bear a heavy and sometimes hazardous Kosovo and afghanistan. temporary
imprint of what has gone before. When infrastructure projects such as these, believes
shaping a new landscape, experts need to Mcnicholas, could lead to new ways of
gain a full understanding of the complete thinking about the built environment.
site. Detective work is part of the job and “it challenges us to do things in a slightly
remedial action is often required. different way. if there’s a shortage of capital in
“first, we assess what the land has the marketplace post-recession, we’re going to
been used for before,” explains Mcnicholas. have to look at new ways of doing things. that
“You have to understand what a society means adapting more buildings and looking at
and its industry was like to know what reduced design life: if the client wants to run a
might be in the ground. You need to business for ten years, why do you need a
know what regulation was in place. for building that’s going to last 50?”
example, there’s a landfill on the Olympic Worldwide, the market for development
Park site. We looked at what industries infrastructure remains significant for atkins,
were in the area over the centuries, to get stresses Mcnicholas: “these massive projects
a sense of its history. We found that, in the require a broad range of skills brought
past, people would use radioactive isotopes together very early in the programme. they
in filaments of lamps. there’s a risk that are complicated and involve environmental
there could be something nasty in the skills, sustainability and carbon critical design.
waste and we need to be prepared to they involve waterborne transport, rail
deal with that. all of this contributes to transport, utilities, power, water, gas and
the ultimate success or failure of such a a comprehensive understanding of cost
major infrastructure project.” modelling. every part of atkins is involved.”
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24