The 2012 London Olympics and associated urban regeneration represent a massive opportunity for ‘UK Construction plc’ – but how much of the multi-billion pound construction budget will benefit the timber industry?

To bring some scale to the potential involved, a ‘Timber Industry Olympics Feasibility Study’ was commissioned through TRADA by wood. for good. The results provide the industry with an understanding of the role and functions of the organisations responsible for delivering the Games.

<b>Economic benefits</b>

The implications of hosting an Olympic Games for the British economy are huge. Current UK construction industry output is £102.4bn a year. The Olympics will add an extra 10% to that, plus some 30,000 construction jobs. House prices in East London are predicted to rise up to 15% and the whole country is expected to see a tourism surge, both before and after the Games.

The heart of the Games is the 500 acre Olympic Park, but nine new venues will also be situated within walking distance. Around £7bn-worth of transport infrastructure will also be completed for 2012. Projects include the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the extension of the Docklands Light Railway and East London Line.

&#8220There seems to be relatively little evidence of other material sectors making a concerted effort to promote their product specifically as material to use during the Olympics”

The three key stakeholders who share responsibility for delivering a successful Games are the mayor of London, the government and the British Olympic Association. The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) will be the single point of contact with the International Olympic Committee and it is the responsibility of LOCOG to organise, publicise and stage the whole event.

An Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) will be accountable to government and the mayor for managing the public money spent building and preparing venues and infrastructure. It will be created under the London Olympics Bill, due to be passed in the first half of 2006.

Most tendering opportunities will be publicised by the LOCOG and the ODA when it is established. Until then, the London Development Agency in conjunction with Transport for London will invite tenders via the Official Journal of the European Union.

A set of draft procurement principles has been prepared to guide existing programmes of contract-letting and in due course, a detailed procurement strategy for the Games will be drawn up. These, approved by key Olympic stakeholders, are designed to ensure that:

  • sustainability lies at the heart of the delivery of the Games;
  • facilities meet the highest standards of design quality;
  • local people benefit from new jobs before and after the Games;
  • the Games are the most environmentally friendly ever;
  • the Olympic projects bring lasting economic, social and environmental benefits to London through regeneration and a “lasting legacy”.
  • The team responsible for the 2012 masterplan – led by EDAW, in partnership with HOK Sport, Foreign Office Architects, and Allies and Morrison – were appointed by the London Development Agency in August 2003. The masterplan is now complete and in most cases planning permission secured.
  • HOK Sport Architecture has been appointed to produce technical briefs for the Games venues. These will form the basis for detailed design and planning work.
  • <b>Four-phase development</b>
  • The development and construction of the Olympic Games has been broken down into four phases: pre-Olympic construction phase; Olympic Games phase; legacy construction phase; post-Olympics legacy phase.
  • It is arguable that the timber industry will benefit more from the legacy projects than it will from most of the main facilities construction contracts. Consequently it may be prudent for the industry to focus its resources on this aspect of the Games rather than concentrate on the headline venue contracts.
  • Conversely, of course, if one of the main stadia were to be constructed largely from timber, this would represent a major achievement. A clearly stated intention is to adopt the techniques of modern methods of construction including prefabrication and demountability – and it is important that the timber industry ensures these intentions do not become diluted.
  • Designers interviewed during the study indicated that currently there seems to be relatively little evidence of other material sectors making a concerted effort to promote their product specifically as material to use during the Olympics.
  • There is plenty of evidence to indicate that the design teams have produced concepts in their ‘house style’ and it might be argued that the chances of timber being used for one of the main stadia is highly dependent upon the team chosen to design it. The timber industry may be ahead of the game at this stage, but it is important to continue to ‘educate’ designers and structural engineers about the versatility, performance characteristics and unrivalled benefits of using wood as a sustainable building material.