EDAW team told it is in line to win key job designing the Olympic park with Arup and Atkins acting as engineers


What the park could look like

What the park could look like


Masterplanner Edaw and multidisciplinary consultants Atkins and Arup are set to win the race for the design of the Olympic park at the 2012 Games, one of the key contracts.

The Edaw team, headed by director Jason Prior, has been told it is likely to land the job. Among the star names allied with EDAW are architects Allies and Morrison, HOK Sport and Foreign Office Architects.

This means that, as expected, the team behind London鈥檚 successful bid will continue its work in charge of developing the look and feel of the 200 ha Olympic Park in the Lea Valley, east London. The work is expected to take three years.

They will be joined by Atkins and Arup, which are thought to have been told they will carry out the engineering work at the site.

This means that Atkins will be able to move across many of the 2000 staff currently working on the Colchester Garrison PFI scheme when the Olympic contract gets under way.

The two bid separately but are accustomed to working together, having joined forces to compete for Crossrail work and the East London Line extension.

Some insiders think David Higgins, the chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority, may seek to bring in another major architect to help with the overall vision. The job will involve the main area where the Games will take place, minus the new-build structures such as the Olympic stadium and the velodrome.

One source close to the process said the architects鈥� team would review the work done so far, but not overhaul it. The source said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 inconceivable we wouldn鈥檛 do a critical review of what鈥檚 been done so far. But I don鈥檛 imagine it鈥檒l be radically different because we鈥檝e got planning permission for what we鈥檝e been doing and we don鈥檛 want to reapply.鈥�

The Edaw team was hot favourite to win the contract but it had to go through a rigorous selection procedure. Each member of the team was interviewed individually and then as a team.

The London Development Agency, which carried out the role of the ODA before London was awarded the 2012 Games, did not release a shortlist of firms for the role but Capita Symonds and Kathryn Gustafson were thought to have been shortlisted. Foster and Partners was also rumoured to have been interested.