2012 Olympics velodrome design steals the show

London’s Olympic velodrome, which was completed and unveiled this week, looks set to be the jewel in the crown of the 2012 Games. Photographs and film footage do not do justice to the dramatic look and feel of the building, designed by Hopkins Architects, a firm best-known for the Mound Stand at Lord’s cricket ground.

The £90m London velodrome was completed this week on time and on budget.

It is being touted as the fastest in the world; Team GB, including riders Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton, had their first chance to ride the track this week and during the Games will be cheered on by 6,000 fans.

The ‘feel’ of the velodrome is down in large part to the use of natural materials; the dramatic swooping design of the building’s exterior is clad in cedar wood, which is given its distinctive rosy hue by staining it with rhubarb.

42 degree pitch pine

The building’s shape echoes that of the track, the surface of which is an impressive 42 degrees at its steepest point. It is constructed from sustainably-sourced Siberian pine grown in such an extreme climate that it will not shrink or contract over the forty years that the track is expected to last.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “The velodrome is a world-class design all the more impressive because in less than two years it will open for any cyclist to use."

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