Swifter, Higher, Stronger

[divider]Sidebar[/divider] Building the Olympic Village London 2012 is being heralded for building the most sustainable Olympic Village of all time. A shortage of steel in the area helped to increase the use of other materials, resulting in a design that is 75 percent lighter in steel than traditional stadiums. In addition to the main stadium, all of the temporary Olympic stadiums (like the volleyball court photographed above) were required to use recyclable materials. Plastics and composites were used in a number of applications to build the Aquatic Center near Stratford Gate and others. London Aquatic Center The London Aquatic Center designed by architect Zaha Hadid, uses FRP pool grating and a channel rail system manufactured by thermoplastic and composite company Quadrant Plastics, based in Lenzburg, Switzerland. In total, there are 1,395 feet of composite grating around the pool area. The Aquatic Center also has six curved concrete diving boards that were constructed onsite in glass fiber reinforced (GFRP) molds manufactured in Production Glassfibre’s factory in Altham. The GFRP molds will be reused as playground equipment. Read "London Olympic Aquatic Centre: FRP Shapes Diving Platforms" for more.