East Village - 2012 Athletes Village ODA / Triathlon / Lend Lease Stratford, London Sector Residential, Retail and Hospitality, Education Our Role Urban Design Status Completed Size 27ha / 67ac / 2,818 homes Designed from the late 1990s onwards, the original Stratford City masterplan was the largest planning application ever submitted in London The project was conceived and submitted for planning prior to the London 2012 Olympic bid, and intended to grow in response for market demand over 20–30 years. Our role as masterplanners for Stratford City, with Arup and West 8, evolved into a further position leading the masterplan for East Village. A key principle from the outset was of long-term city making, creating connections with the existing Stratford town centre, and onto the Lea Valley Park. The intention being that the project ultimately blurs into its context, seeding transformation in nearby neighbourhoods. Coordinated with the Olympic bid during the initial masterplan determination period, we created two schemes aligning but not obstructing each other. This ensured the success of the original masterplan would not be impeded were the Olympic bid unsuccessful. The success of the Olympic bid rapidly accelerated the pace of delivery. Working with landscape architects Vogt and multiple design teams, nearly 3,000 homes were delivered in a single phase – far more than any normal residential project would produce in a similar period. The scale and timing plan was a major challenge, but we designed the northern zone in parallel with commissioning at an architectural scale. We produced detailed design guidance alongside comprehensive briefing of the architectural teams. The Athletes’ Village was delivered on time and with enough flexibility to be returned to long-term housing with varied tenures and unit sizes. The cultural, social, environmental and economic benefits of the project are vast. The delivery of so much housing at a time has created an opportunity for immediate critical mass, setting foundations for further legacy benefits in the years ahead. The entire landscape of the site was machined as a result of the vast engineering project to deliver high-speed rail connections between St Pancras and the Channel Tunnel. The land on which East Village sits was dug from beneath the surface of East London, moving millions of tons of soil to create a new topography, elevated out of the flood plain and allowing bridge connections into surrounding streets. Image credits Adelina Iliev Mike O'Dwyer Olympic Delivery Authority Fletcher Priest Architects Practice → Approach People Community Awards Publications Careers Services → Architecture Interior design Urban design Research Sectors → Retail hospitality Workplace Culture sport-leisure Residential Education Contact → Social MailChimp Linkedin Twitter Instagram Facebook Copyright © fletcher priest architects 2021 We use cookies to help us improve your experience on our website. By closing this notification or interacting with the website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more → I accept