London 2012: Power of design

The London 2012 Olympics aims to be a beacon for sustainable delivery of the Games and the infrastructure behind it. And its Energy Centre − resembling a mini Tate Modern − is at the heart of its plans. Andrea Klettner reports.


With London 2012 aiming to be the greenest, most sustainable Olympics to date, it is only fitting that the first piece of usable legacy will be the park’s own Energy Centre.

The idea is that it will be a carbon neutral and efficient source of power, as well as a heating and cooling system across the site for the Games and for the new buildings and communities that will develop in the years after.

Work on the project, which is located at the western edge of the park on the former Kings Yard site, started towards the end of 2008.

John Coleman, project manager for contractor Cofely − which won a 40-year concession to design, build, finance and operate the Energy Centre in April 2008 − explains: “We effectively designed the building around the equipment. The site has a small footprint so we had to build up rather than out.”

Piling started in September 2008. In total 218 concrete continuous flight auger piles, the majority of which were 22m in length and varying in diameter between 450mm, 650mm and 750mm, were installed.

Then more than 500t of steel was used to erect the frame of the building, which is 45m tall at its highest point − resembling a miniature version of London’s iconic Tate Modern art gallery.

“We effectively designed the building around the equipment. The site has a small footprint so we had to build up rather than out.”

John Coleman, Cofely
Traditional construction methods tell you that now is the time to add walls and a roof to the building, but the team behind the Energy Centre decided to leave that until the very end, allowing them to install the equipment much more easily.

“The advantage of the construction is that it is very much demountable. It allows us to change the technology inside as it moves on,” says Coleman. “That’s the kind of flexible design we wanted.”

The ground floor holds spark ignition gas engines, ammonia electric chillers and the boilers that will drive the centre’s Combined Cooling, Heat and Power (CCHP) plant.

“The boilers weight 100t each and are transported down from Scotland,” explains Coleman.

“The gas engines weigh around 70t each. On the first floor are the two-stage waste heat boilers and on the top floor you have the air handling and ventilation, switchgear and double effect absorption chillers.