Creative and digital cluster on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Here East announces start datefor construction of a creative and digital cluster on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Here East, London’s home for making and the company selected by the London Legacy Development Corporation to transform the former Press and Broadcast Centres on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into a world-class creative and digital cluster, today announces that construction work to transform the buildings will commence on 20th October 2014.

Here East has selected Laing O’Rourke to undertake the works as it presses ahead with plans to create a home for world-leading creative and digital companies in the heart of east London. As part of the agreement, Laing O Rourke has committed to providing local employment and apprenticeships during the construction phase.Here East willcreate over 7,500 jobs, including 5,300 directly on-site and a further 2,200 in the local community through the impact of using local supply chains and new business generation.

The unique location provides a range of flexible spaces and will bring together global companies alongside east London’s most innovative start-ups. The former Press Centre will be ready for occupation in early summer 2015, while Loughborough University will open its brand new London campus to its first cohort of students in October 2015. BT Sport is already broadcasting live premiership football directly from Here East. The former Broadcast Centre will feature office and studio space, and will undergo a phased delivery, with the complete space ready for occupation in early 2016.

Here East has also today released new images depicting the latest plans for the buildings, including a unique structure on the east elevation, providing a platform for individual, creative studios housing start-ups and small businesses.

Here East will this week host the Invictus Games for wounded ex-servicemen and women, which take place between 10th and 14th September on the Park. Visitors to the Games will be treated to a spectacle of five of the UK’s most talented and celebrated muralists as they produce a 70 metre long live street art painting spanning the entrance to the Invictus Games in Waterden Road.

Commenting, Gavin Poole, CEO of Here East, said:

“We are delighted to announce the start of construction works to develop this unique digital and creative cluster at Here East. It will deliver thousands of employment and training opportunities, starting with the construction phase through Laing O Rourke. We are excited that we are now entering the final phase of delivering this economic legacy to London and the UK.”

Jamie Ritblat, CEO of Delancey, added:

“Here East is a unique development that will provide a dedicated home to the UK’s fast-growing and world-leading creative and digital industries. We are thrilled with the support that LLDC has provided us with and look forward to continuing to work closely alongside them to deliver this important legacy. The ambitious timetable for transformation works demonstrates both Delancey and LLDC’s joint commitment to supporting innovation, employment and enterprise across the Olympic Park. ”

David Bickle, partner at Hawkins\Brown, the architects responsible for designing Here East, added:

“Making will be at the heart of Here East a new neighbourhood for London's digital community. Hawkins\Brown are proud to be collaborating with creative partners dn&co and POKE, and now alongside Laing O'Rourke, to make this project a success.”

For this ambitious project, the Here East Innovation Center, where we provided 2,000 sqm of raised floor.

The building raises in the ‘Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’, an huge park realized for the Olympic games in 2012. It was created to be the Press and Broadcast Centre, where about 20,000 journalists reached an estimated audience of more than 4  billion people worldwide.

London is one of the cities that has been able to convert and enhance the facilities realized for the event. The Here East represents now a thriving commercial space, with the most advanced digital infrastructures in Europe. It offers commercial spaces of all sizes and it’s also a training ground for new talent.

For this project we have supplied 650sqm of 38mm thickness chipboard panels, with a top covering of reconstituted stone by Agglobaghin color EM 06-05 with a thickness of 20mm. Other 1,200sqm were realized in chipboard panel with the reconstituted stone Agglobaghin color EM 4607. For the steel substructure it was chosen the light stringer and the pedestals with different regulations depending on the height of the various spaces.