The London 2012 Olympic Games’ had a commitment to being the ‘greenest games' with sustainability objectives that covered carbon, waste, materials and environmental impacts.

The temporary overlay design and operational period of the park was required to boost waste recycling while avoiding environmental incidents. The construction of walls, concourses, embankments, foot and highway bridges at the Olympic Park had to minimise the associated carbon footprint.  

Arup’s sustainability team advised the client on priorities and established the alignment of new products and techniques with them. The team assessed embodied carbon and lifecycle impacts for different designs and materials, resulting in specifications that delivered the best sustainability outcomes.

Our designs for structures, bridges and highways evolved from conception to final construction to reduce embodied carbon through changes in the volumes and types of materials used.  

With sustainability at its core, ‘lean design’ achieved significant reductions in materials used, minimising carbon emissions as a result. We removed unnecessary bridges and replaced others with leaner structures, saving at least 44,900 tonnes of CO² (26% reduction). Using more cement replacement materials in the construction of retaining walls, concourses, embankments and bridges, embodied CO² was cut by approximately 615 tonnes (24% reduction).  

Optimising bridges across the park

In collaboration with the ODA, our bridge optimisation study achieved a reduction in both the number and the size of bridges across the park.We identified design simplifications that improved the project’s sustainability without compromising its design requirements. The revised bridge design plan removed unnecessary bridges and replaced large sections of permanent bridges with leaner, temporary structures, saving at least 44,900 tonnes of CO² (26% reduction).

A new approach to materials

Our designs for structures, bridges and highways at the Olympic Park changed significantly from the original scheme to final construction. These changes impacted the volumes and types of materials used, often by reducing and realigning structures or incorporating existing infrastructure. This resulted in a significant reduction in embodied carbon.  

London Olympic Park
Our designs for structures, bridges and highways evolved from conception to final construction to reduce embodied carbon through changes in the volumes and types of materials used.
London Olympic Park
We identified a number of design simplifications which improved the project’s sustainability without compromising the design requirements.

Designing sustainable structures

The development of the Olympic Park included the construction of retaining walls, concourses, embankments, as well as foot and highway bridges for the event and beyond. We increased the use of cement replacement materials for the pile structures supporting them, reducing their embodied carbon by 24%, or approximately 615 tonnes.