Completed a full year in advance, the groundbreaking 2011 London Olympics Basketball Stadium is designed to be deconstructed and recycled. Every four years thousands of spectators converge on a lucky country pre-determined to be the best host for that year's Olympic Games, and until now, that privilege has been bestowed mostly on countries who could afford the mammoth building projects necessary to accommodate the throng. This could change with the innovative white-clad, recyclable basketball stadium, which was designed jointly by Sinclair Knight Merz, Wilkinson Eyre
and KSS.
The basketball arena is built from 1,000 tons of steel, so it may be a stretch to call it “green”. Nonetheless, compared to Zaha Hadid’s contribution to the London Games – the lavish Olympics Aquatic Center – and the £500 million main stadium, we can acknowledge a significant step in a more sustainable direction.
The already-complete basketball stadium is mobile, comparatively lightweight, and designed to be a temporary structure. According to Architizer, Dennis Hone, Chief Executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), said that he hopes this new model will enable more countries to benefit from the economic stimulus typically associated with large sporting events such as the Olympic Games.