Future Cities Forum Olympic legacies report - Paris and London

Image: courtesy Paris 2024

Future Cities Forum's full report on legacies for cities post Olympic games, looks at pre-event building programmes as well as the post-event development of city districts, comparing the visions of London and Paris.

Paris has wanted to hold the 'greenest' of Olympics events to date and is holding many of its events in retrofitted buildings. An example of this is the Grand Palais in 1900, and it has been redeveloped by Chatillon Architects. Fencing is one of the sports due to be held in this venue among the Art Deco features of this famous building.

By contrast, to the north of the city, there has been the construction of the new Adidas Arena (SCAU and NP2F) earlier this year, where badminton competitions will be held. This is a deprived part of the city which will benefit from concerts be staged there after the games. The seats and cladding have been produced from recycled materials.

Above: the new Adidas Arena in the La Chappelle district of Paris - courtesy of www.parisbasketball.paris

The Forum looked back to the Olympic Games of 2012 in London and the development of East Bank around the Queen Elizabeth Park, inviting to the discussion Rosanna Lawes, Director of Development from the London Legacy Development Corporation, Annelie Kvick Thompson, Partner, Grimshaw, Christopher Jones, Associate Architect, BDP and Gavin Jenkins, Executive Lead for Stratford Transition, University of the Arts London.

Rosanna compared the two cities:

'Our bid for the games in London was always about the promise to transform this part of the capital. We kept our promises and we now have new neighbourhoods, a new education district, new homes. The brief was very different to other cities hosting the Olympics. For us it was always about legacy. Our venues have been retained. We have had around 15 million visits to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park a year and that keeps rising. We were keen to have a sustainable and environmental legacy too and we put millions of pounds into transforming the area with its redundant rail yards and bringing the rivers and waterways back to help increase wildlife. We also wanted to allow for natural flood plains. The climate emergency has caught up for all of us and times have changed since 2012. There is a lot more to do but we are seeing that around the world too.

'Different cities bid for different reasons. Our reason was to catalyse growth and investment, other cities want to showcase their soft power. Building permanent venues carry responsibility, but where there are legacies there are opportunities. We knew that our plans had to be flexible and leave space to innovate. East Bank is an example of that. Paris will do this. The trick is to be open-minded and leave that space for innovation. There will be opportunities for communities and this is something that Paris should capitalise on and make sure there is investment for those local residents.

Rosanna was asked how long it took for the community to feel the benefits:

'We started years before the games and our objective was to think carefully, but act quickly. We were ready to go from day one with transformation. We wanted to move from the elite mode of the games to the community mode. It took about a year after the games when we were taking temporary venues away and building schools within a year or two. We wanted to create infrastructure on the edge of the Olympic Park and build places of exchange. It was really market making and a case of London's growth shifting east. This was part of our vision and for Paris, there will be the opportunity to shift growth also in a number of different directions.

'It is now just about individual partners but working collectively. Students for instance will bring a special emphasis to the place and help to create a sense of the richness of opportunity. Residents do feel that they own the place and we were very careful to bring the voices of young table to the table to help the corporation make decisions. They feel an ownership based on place and pride. It's been an exchange. Good comes from debate and disagreement.

'The place is a great story in the sum of its parts. No one venue has made it, but collectively it is a phenomenal piece of London. The connectivity will continue to take time and deliver connections across ribbons of waterways. We built many bridges post games and improved cycle paths. We continue to invest and help Stratford Station expand, so that east London can grow.'

Image: Stratford Station and environs, courtesy of Grimshaw

Three hundred thousand people have moved to Stratford since the millennium according to research from architects practice, Grimshaw, who says the station is the sixth busiest in the UK. It has just been announced that the practise has been invited to form a multi-disciplinary arrangement to look at the potential growth of the station and how its design can streamline the enormous numbers of commuters and visitors that flow through it on a daily basis.

It says:

'A multidisciplinary design team comprising Arup, Grimshaw and 5th Studio has been appointed to lead the next stage of design work for the planned redevelopment of London’s Stratford station. Working as a partner to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), Network Rail, Transport for London, Places for London and Newham Council, the team also includes BAM, Corderoy, make:good, and Kanda Consulting. The outcome of this latest stage of the project will be the delivery of an enhanced strategic outline business case and design for the station and its surrounding areas.

'Stratford is one of the most important public transport interchanges in the UK. However, the station is nearing its capacity limits. It has seen the largest absolute passenger growth of any station in the country since 2021 and was the sixth busiest station in the UK last year. Local communities are fast-growing, with the four London boroughs surrounding the station expanding by over 300,000 residents since the turn of the millennium. 

'The station serves Stratford town centre and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which continue to evolve 12 years on from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The LLDC has made cementing the legacy of the Games a key priority, investing in the East Bank cultural quarter, encouraging inward investment, planning and bringing forward over 5000 homes within new mixed-use neighbourhoods around the park and improving connectivity, such as transforming Westfield Avenue.'

Annelie Kvick Thompson, Partners at Grimshaw commented:

'It is a very important transit hub and next to it is also a very busy bus station, which provides onward travel. The station has lots of different types of uses and in many ways is a victim of its success because the Olympic Park has been so successful. A lot of students are now using it and the area has mixed communities.

'It is a classic case of the railway severing parcels of land and we need to look at the future of mobility which will bring people and growth. The areas around it are not connected well and the vision of the shared project is to make sure that the station keeps getting people through it and how we can unlock capacity.

'It is an interesting station, not really like anything else with different types of trains and multiple levels. It is an important interchange with physical movement up and down and the wayfinding it challenging. There is no single thing that you need to resolve and get right, it is a combination. You need to get the flow working and the physical space to do that and make it legible. There are frequent travellers who know where they are going and also first-time visitors. The layers need to come together and ease all those movements. You need to make it more intuitive.

'Digital definitely has a role to play. It's how we get our information. Live tech is very important but so too is channelling people through and simplifying things generally. Sometimes you do not need so much information and that is restful.

'We must concentrate on the railway not causing severance, which slows people down from getting from place to place. We must make the public realm enjoyable and attractive to use.'

Annelie added on the vision of Olympic legacy:

'It is hard to have a vision into the future. How do you plan for it? Yes you have to be flexible but things change so quickly. What do you hang your plan around? King's Cross seemed to have a strong identity from the first and I think it is really about this. It is about building up an identity and making sure that thread continues through future decades.'

Image: planning permission has been given to BDP for Meridian Steps university accommodation - viewed from across Great Eastern Road in Stratford - with the Westfield retail district behind (Courtesy BDP)

The growth of student accommodation has been a growing feature of city life and no less so than in Stratford. BDP has been given planning permission for a new vertical tower at Meridian Steps in Stratford, to feed the enlarged student population in the area.

.Associate Architect, Christopher Jones described the project:

'The site and where it is on the south side of the train tracks in very much part of this severance from the Olympic Park. We want to bring the work that has been done on greening to top that hard divide. It is next to the Meridian Steps and the site has been vacant for some time.

'The first concern is how to build a great piece of skyline. Then there is the disjointed nature of the site. Stratford has a very busy station. The walk through from the station through Westfield has been done well but we want to improve the public realm from there around our development. The new entrance to the station as part of the student development and the community spaces on the ground floor are all part of the plan. You Press is moving in here and using media and radio to connect with the community.

Our student accommodation has a big accent on wellbeing. There have been many theories about how to bring student communities together, especially in a vertical structure. This is a tall tower with 900 students and so we have focussed on how to create cohorts and build relations over the floors. There will be activity spaces throughout it and Unite have the data to ensure they know what students want. They are fleet-footed with the data and adapt their buildings fast. They are moving from social spaces to study spaces.

BDP adds:

'The design proposes a community-first, residential high-rise tower which aims to revitalise the heart of Stratford, providing much-needed student accommodation while enhancing access to local services and public realm. The approved plans propose extensive greening around Meridian Square and Meridian Steps, create a new entrance to Stratford Station and provide a new home to local social enterprise, You Press.  

'The design works to resolve a complex urban site, presenting a new gateway to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The building is formed of cluster flats with 952 bedrooms and public-facing facilities, including a café and retail outlets located on the three ‘ground’ floors - accommodating the different levels at Meridian Steps.'

'The student spaces are designed to open new opportunities for social interaction and allow the student cohorts to grow and develop their own community, in a new model of vertical living. All student cluster flats are located close to internal and external amenity spaces, to prioritise student wellbeing and offer access to a wide range of facilities with panoramic views of London. The proposal also boasts contemporary study areas, gyms, and cinema rooms, all designed to enhance student living.

Christopher was asked whether the heritage of the East End site was referenced in the design?

Chris responded:

'It was considered in the early stages of the facade design, particularly thinking about the historic nature of the train yards. Materials have been brought in to reflect that and bed into the future context with what is appropriate. It is definitely something that is used to enhance place-making.

'Additionally, the social spaces at the top of the building on the roof will have panoramic views of the developing area.

'There was an Art Deco front to the original station on the site, which has now been filled in, and our challenge has been to build our student accommodation on top of the exits and entrances of this.'

Image: the new London College of Fashion next to the V&A, designed by Allies & Morrison - courtesy of London College of Fashion.

The new London College of Fashion has moved from disparate sites in west London to the new location next to the V&A at East Bank. The design of this impressive building by Allies & Morrison has referenced the industrial nature of east London with its many former factories but also the 19th century approach to mill buildings.

Allies & Morrison says how the building fits into the post-Olympic legacy:

'The origins of the college lie in the trade schools founded at the beginning of the 20th century to meet the increasing needs and new technologies of the textile and clothing industries. Traditional courses such as footwear design and pattern cutting have more recently been joined by fashion journalism, management, and marketing. The College’s departments were dotted across London – from the bustle of Hackney’s Mare Street to a quiet corner of Lime Grove.

'Housing such a variety and diverse character of disciplines in one place represents a step change in the functional organisation of the college and the opportunity for London College of Fashion (LCF) to take on a more tangible identity for itself and for its students.

'The new college building was commissioned as part of Stratford Waterfront, an important piece of post-Olympic legacy to create a new education and culture quarter within Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Allies and Morrison was master-planner for the site and alongside the LCF has also designed a new home for BBC Music. The location demanded a building of character – with an identity appropriate to its context within the ‘terrace’ of new institutional buildings, and recognisable as a facility for the production of fashion.'

Above: interior view of part of the London College of Fashion's new campus building at Stratford, on the East Bank of the Olympic Park (Courtesy Allies & Morrison)

Gavin Jenkins, Executive Lead for Stratford Transition University of the Arts London, who joined Future Cities Forum's debate, explained why this design - from LCF's point of view - was developed:

'We wanted to focus on functionality and student needs first, but we also wanted a gravitas to the building and reference business. So bedded into the infrastructure is this sense of the 19th century mill. There are large windows everywhere giving natural light into the building. Unlike the mills, these can be opened to allow fresh air and there are terraces that students can walk out onto, providing fantastic study spaces.

'The ground and first floor are publicly accessible where Wi-Fi is available and we are planning a series of public talks next year. Our outreach programme is especially important for fifteen and sixteen year olds, explaining the opportunities in the fashion industry.

'Our research programme and education works globally through the students and we are thrilled to have moved eastwards. The site is of course connected by rail infrastructure to the fashion districts of Paris and Milan but also to the creative heart of London around Hackney, where young creative practice is there. Capacity needs to grow at Stratford Station to cope with all this.

'We were very conscious also of not landing like an alien in Stratford and as a hostile institution but spent years before we built here of connecting to the communities in the six surrounding communities. We have been thrilled to connect with them and provide opportunities. Our experience to date is that you must tread sensitively with good intent for future success.'

Thank you to our contributors for talking with such expert knowledge on this important topic on district development, recorded on the day of the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris.

Below: aerial view of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park looking south east towards Stratford, the Greenwich Peninsula and Canary Wharf (Courtesy Jason Hawkes and Here East)