The Stadium’s wrap will be recycled
Architectural charity Article 25 is to re-use the fabric wrap surrounding Populous’s Olympic Stadium for children’s projects in Uganda and Brazil.
The charity has been selected as its partner to recycle the Stadium’s 306 plastic panels by Dow Chemicals, which stepped in to sponsor the wrap when public funds fell short in 2011.
Dow and its partners created the innovative material to meet LOCOG’s Sustainable Sourcing Code and Temporary Material Guidelines. The total wrap system, including steel cables and fixtures, accounted for less than half of one percent (<0.5%) of the stadium’s total carbon footprint.
Dow worked with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to screen and narrow the list of options for the post-Games use of the wrap. In its evaluation, BRE took into account various factors, including waste creation, extent of reprocessing required, technical challenge, scale and end of second life use.
In Brazil, Dow and Article 25 are exploring working with the Bola Pra Frente Institute to construct a shaded community area at the organisation’s new facility in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. The Institute was created in 2000 to help children and teenagers from underprivileged communities through social programs focused on education, sports, arts and professional training.
The same sheltering solution will be used as part of Article 25’s work with Jubilee Action at a vocational training and counselling centre for former child soldiers in Uganda. The stadium wrap panels will remain as much in their current shape as possible, keeping the look of the Games that has inspired athletes and spectators around the world. In addition, Dow is working with Manchester-based Axion Recycling to implement additional projects for reuse or recycling of the wrap within the UK.
Article 25 is a UK registered charity and NGO which since 2006 has worked on more than 50 construction assignments, from one-off centres for abandoned children to large-scale reconstruction after disasters.
“These projects will build understanding about the importance of the use and reuse of materials in the global community,” said Robin Cross, director of projects and CEO of Article 25. “London won the honour of hosting the Olympics in 2012 by promising to inspire a generation of young people around the world to greater heights of personal and sporting achievement. By using the stadium wrap to build essential community facilities in Uganda and Brazil we hope to deliver on this international promise and bring part of the London Olympics to some of the most marginalized youngsters in the developing world.”
The wrap was the most visible of Dow’s contributions to Olympic Games. Other contributions included flooring in the Olympic and Paralympic Village for energy-efficient housing, resins in the unique blue and pink hockey pitch for faster and safer play, and wire and cable solutions in the International Broadcast Centre to support the city’s technology infrastructure.
Article 25, is also to benefit from the auction of photographs in the CIOB’s Art of Photography competition, whose shortlist has been announced this week.
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