BMW Group, which is London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games' official automotive partner, has presented its pavilion design at the Olympic Park. After a competition entered by six architecture companies, the automaker chose the British firm Serie with its revolutionary design that will stand for a noteworthy architectural addition to the Olympic Park, while also mirroring the automaker's deep commitment to sustainability.
The pavilion of BMW has an area of 800 square meters. It will be erected on a raised site above the Waterworks River between the Aquatics Centre and the Olympic Stadium. Serie's forward-thinking design will utilize river water to deliver a sustainable cooling source for the building before returning this filtered water to the river through an attention-grabbing 'water curtain' feature.
Each of the elements in the BMW pavilion has been designed to mirror the company's legacy in environmental innovation. The two-storey superstructure will be made of steel with high recycled content. Moreover, the structure will use less of the carbon-intensive materials like concrete. Serie co-founder and principal architect Christopher Lee states that the design is inspired by the pavilion in the park -- the Victorian bandstand.
However, instead of having one pavilion, they envisioned nine pavilions grouped together to form a family, he further explains. The top floor will be utilized to highlight the latest automobile innovations of BMW. This floor will house a variety of individual standalone pavilions.
On the other hand, the lower floor will have a number of interactive visitor exhibits, showcasing the automaker's vision for sustainable mobility and support for Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes such as Tom Daley, Rebecca Adlington, David Weir and Louis Smith through the BMW London 2012 Performance Team program. More than 8,000 visitors are expected to come to the BMW pavilion daily during the Olympic & Paralympic Games.
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, also known as the 14th Summer Paralympic Games and as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, is a major multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, as governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The 2012 Summer Paralympics , will be held in London, UK from August 29, to September 9, 2012.
The rights to host the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were awarded to London at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. Thanks to a formal deal between the International Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee in 2001, London -- as the winner of the bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics -- was picked to host the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Interestingly, the UK is considered as the spiritual birthplace of the Paralympic movement.
