Building Construction 2 Project 2 Report

1. LONDON OLYMPIC STADIUM 2012

2. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGN
Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 2 [ARC 2513]
Project 2: Understanding Forces in Solid Structure and Surface Structure
Tutor: Mr Bruce Lee Xia Sheng
GROUP MEMBERS: TAN WEI HOW (0310707)
YONG CHANG THENG (0310925)
LEE YUAN JUNE (0311128)
WONG PEAKKY (1101A13474)
CHUAH WEI HONG (0310900)
CHEONG SIEW LEONG (0310845)

3. CONTENT
1 INTRODUCTION
2 DRAWINGS
3 CONSTRUCTION
4 STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
5 MODELLING PROCESS
6 CONCLUSION

4. INTRODUCTION
In this project, we are to do research and
choose a building with at least 2 different
types of structural system and study the
various structural systems that are used in
that building. In a group of 6 persons, we
need to build a structural model with
suitable scale and materials to understand
the construction of the building.
Our chosen building is the Olympic Stadium,
which is located on a 40-hectare, diamond-shaped
island in the Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park, Stratford, London. It was
constructed to serve as the host stadium for
the 2012 Summer Olympics and
Paralympics. It was designed by Populous,
specialists in the design of sports venues. It
is the lightest Olympic Stadium ever built
and it stands as a testament to steel’s
speed of construction and its flexibility.

5. DRAWINGS
PLAN SECTION
ELEVATION

6. CONSTRUCTION OF
DIFFERENT PARTS
Populous’s architects, the designers of the
stadium, created a Lego-like modular structure
wherein the roof, outer bowl, inner bowl and
auxiliary support pieces are all independent of
each other. Steelwork has played an important
role during the construction programme and
112 steel rakers were installed to support the
two tiers of seating. Circling the stadium at
high level, a steel roof compression truss,
made from 28 individual steel sections, each
one 15m high by 30 m long and weighing 85
tonnes, supports a cable net roof and 14
lighting towers. During the Olympic games, the
stadium was able to hold 80,000 spectators.
That is why the structure of the foundation is
very important to support the whole building.
There are 5,000 piles reaching up to 20 metres
deep in the foundation of the base level which
are cast in situ piles, continuous flight auger
piles, and vibro concrete columns.

7. STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
Skeletal structure system
The stadium is designed using steel skeletal structure system, which transfers all load gravity,
uplift, and lateral loads to the foundation. Besides that, there are precast concrete, which are
heavy, solid, can hold weight on the upper tier seats and lower tier seats.
Rigid concrete frame with reinforcement
Concrete is weak in tension but strong in compression. Therefore, reinforcement is needed is
needed to resist the tensile stresses resulting from the loads. The rigid structures made of linear
elements, beams and columns that are connected that do not allow rotations. Structures are built
at the site, which may or may not be poured monolithically. When concrete column and beams are
cast in one piece.
Prefabrication of concrete
The concrete elements of the building are manufactured in factory and then transported to the site.
All the process involved in concrete construction are done at the factory. This speeds up
construction and thus, saves cost. The concrete prefabricated parts will be erected and jointed on
site.

8. External Bracing
It is not only for structural use but it also offers aesthetics to the building. The advantage of steel is
to stabilize the frame against strong winds. Lateral forces are resisted by axial actions of bracing
and columns. It is more efficient than rigid frame.
The arrows on the image show the external bracing Structural detail of bolted joints
made of steels

9. JOINTS
The London Olympic Stadium’s temporary structure will be dismantled after the event. To allow for
best flexibility, the roof structure is isolated from the terrace structure. The most efficient way to do
so while also saving cost is to employ precast technology and bolted joints for the construction of
concrete and steel structure. The V-shaped steel supports act as bracing for the steel truss
structure that forms a compression ring. Specially designed cable construction holds the
lightweight PVC roof membranes together. For the terrace structure, the precast concrete terrace
module is bolted onto the raking lattice girders spanning the whole stadium. As for the permanent
structure, precast concrete joints are used.
Photo shown is the concrete terrace module
bolted onto the large raking lattice girder
Photo shown is the typical precast
concrete joint

10. LOAD DISTRIBUTION
ROOF LOAD
UPPER TIER LOAD
LOWER TIER
LOAD
Load Transfer Pathway
Roof load: Light tower > Roof &
Steel cable > Roof truss > V
shaped column
Upper Tier load: Precast seating
module > Raking lattice girder >
Column
Lower Tier load: Floor slab >
Beam > Column

11. 14 light towers
Located over the inner ring. Each weighs
34 tonnes and has a power of 70,000 watts.
532 floodlights are used in the 14 towers.
The roof structure
Made from recycled materials like meltdown
scrap and others from an abandoned gas
pipeline project. It is light- weighted and
completely eco-friendly.
The Wrap Banners
Fabric wrap made from polyester and
polyethylene
Upper tier seats
Precast concrete upper bowl has a capacity
of 55,000 seats.
STRUCTURAL DETAILS
Lower tier seats
Sunken elliptical bowl that is made up of
40% less embodied carbon precast
concrete. It has a capacity of 25,000 seats.
STRUCTURE AND MATERIALS
112 steel sections
Provide support to the upper bowl. 126,000
bolts were used to fix the temporary black
section in place.
PTeremmapnoernatr ys tructure

14. CONCLUSION
By completing this project, we get to understand more about different structures and
its relevant structural components. We can learn about construction and building
structures by doing research and demonstrate our understanding through modelling.
As designers, it is very important to understand when and where each of the different
type of structural system is used. Furthermore, teamwork is also very important in
order to complete a project. This project has brought 6 of us closer together to work
as a team. Finally, we want to thank our lecturer, Mr Bruce Lee for guiding us during
tutorial classes in order to choose a suitable building and complete this project.

15. REFERENCES
1. London 2012 - Olympic Stadium, 2012, Detail architecture-topics.
[online] Available at:
http://www.detail-online.com/architecture/topics/london-2012-olympic-stadium-019389.html
2. Olympic Stadium, London, 2012, Structural Steel Design Awards, Steel Construction.
[online] Available at:
http://www.steelconstruction.info/Olympic_Stadium,_London
3. How to Construct the Lightest, Most Open Olympic Stadium Ever built, 2012, Popular
Science.
[online] Available at: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-07/how-construct-lightest-
most-open-olympic-stadium-ever-built
4. London 2012 Olympic Stadium, 2014, Designing Buildings Wiki.
[online] Available at:
http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/London_2012_Olympic_Stadium#Engineering_for_t
he_Seating_Bowl