The 2012 Olympic
stadium is now home
to West Ham United FC
SSDA celebrates 50 years
Since the Structural Steel Design
Awards (SSDA) were initiated in
1969 by the British Constructional
Steelwork Association (BCSA) and
the British Steel Corporation there have
been many changes in the construction
and the steel sectors, but one constant
asset is the way that steel not only confers
efficiency and economy but also has an
aesthetic which designers are able to exploit
to the benefit of the built environment.
The qualities of engineering excellence,
innovation, attention to detail, economy
and speed of construction have been
brought together in each of the structures
that have been given awards during the past
49 years.
Following on from last month’s look
back at the 2000s, in this issue we highlight
the 2010s. Two examples of this decade’s
Award winners are the Olympic Stadium (a
winner in 2012) and The Kelpies (a winner
in 2014).
Now known as the London Stadium
and the home of West Ham United FC, a
number of structural alterations have been
made to the former Olympic Stadium since
it was the centrepiece of the London 2012
Games.
Flexibility was built into the
design of the 80,000-seat stadium, as
originally it was envisaged that after
the Olympics it would be transformed
into a 25,000-capacity legacy venue by
demounting the upper tier.
However, these plans changed and
after the Olympics a second construction
phase was undertaken that included the
strengthening of the main steel frame. This
facilitated the installation of retractable
seating and a new roof, that is claimed to be
largest spanning tensile roof in the world.
This second phase of steel construction
work was carried out by William Hare.
The London Stadium is now a multipurpose
venue with the potential to
accommodate up to 60,000 spectators,
not just for football, but also athletics and
concerts.
To provide flexibility in both
construction, dismantling and possible
legacy uses the original roof was
structurally independent from the
terrace structure. The roof consisted of a
900m-long ring truss supported on a series
of inclined tubular columns.
The terrace superstructure consists
of precast concrete units resting on
large raking lattice girders, which were
supported on concrete shear walls at the
front and by raking steel columns along
the span.
The original roof covering consisted
of a PVC fabric supported on a cable net
with an inner tension cable ring and an
outer steel compression truss that was
approximately 900m-long and 12m-deep.
Working on behalf of the main
contractor Sir Robert McAlpine, Severfield
fabricated, supplied and erected 10,000t of
steel for the original scheme, making it the
lightest Olympic Stadium to date.
Motorists driving along the M9 near
Falkirk are today greeted with the view of
two 30m-high equine sculptures known as
The Kelpies.
The steel structures sit either side of a
recently constructed lock on the Forth &
Clyde Canal forming the centrepiece of The
Helix park in Falkirk.
Known as ‘head up’ and ‘head down’,
because of their different postures, The
Kelpies have become a major Scottish
tourist attraction and a highly visible
signpost for a large regeneration scheme.
Conceived by sculptor Andy Scott and
fabricated and erected by S H Structures,
SSDA 50th Anniversary
Having started in 1969, the Structural Steel Design Awards are this year celebrating their
50th anniversary. In the fifth and final article, NSC looks back at the past decade, the 2010s.
10 NSC
September18
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/Construction
/The_case_for_steel#Speed_of_construction
/The_Kelpies,_Falkirk
/Leisure_buildings#Flexibility_and_adaptability
/Olympic_Stadium,_London
/London_Olympic_Roof_Conversion
/Leisure_buildings#Sightlines_and_seating
/Trusses
/Fabrication
/Construction#Steel_erection