1. Design skills Site analysis

2. © NORD Architecture
For further information about substations visit:
As illustrated through the Olympic Park electricity substation by NORD Architecture
Inspired by Design

3. © NORD Architecture
Teachers’ notes: Gathering maps and site plans is one of the first things an architect does. You could discuss the reasons why with your students. Aerial photos are also very useful – use Google Earth to help students find their school and analyse the surrounding area via different views.
The primary substation was the first building to be completed on the Olympic Park – the brief was to create a permanent building which would inspire the design of other utility buildings on an old industrial site.
Inspired by Design

4. © NORD Architecture
Teachers’ notes: diagrams are helpful when working out how a site functions. Provide pens and paper so your students can do the same. You could ask them to make a memory map and illustrate the school and other landmark buildings in the local area, before adding more layers of information such as transport routes etc.
As part of the utilities infrastructure, around 50 pylons were removed from the site and all cabling routed underground. The cabling now connects to the King’s Yard substation via a basement within the building, providing electricity across the Olympic Park and beyond.
Inspired by Design

5. © NORD Architecture
Existing buildings had not been demolished when the project began – as part of their analysis NORD visited the site to record and photograph these old warehouses. The architects wanted to respond to this industrial heritage. They decided to design a substation with ‘weight’ which would have its own identity next to the temporary venues due to be built later.
Inspired by Design

6. © NORD Architecture
The architects gathered all the site information (dimensions and detail about boundaries such as roads and railways) and created a 70m long building which sits proudly on site. As the building isn’t a venue for London 2012 visitors (it contains plant and equipment) most people will experience it from a distance. The architects therefore wanted the building to work as a sculptural form.
Inspired by Design

7. © NORD Architecture
The massing of the substation responded to the proposal for the neighbouring Energy Centre and land bridge. The towers are different heights due to restrictions of a viewing corridor. The substation will ultimately have a green roof to help its sustainability performance and appearance on site.
Teachers’ notes: ask students to discuss how the buildings work together e.g. the bottom layer in both (shown in mid grey) follow the same height.
Inspired by Design

8. © NORD Architecture
The architects were keen to use brick – to reference the old warehouses and to help make the building look permanent on site. They researched other brick buildings and liked the black brick used in streetscapes.
Inspired by Design

9. © NORD Architecture
Perforated
Decorative
Traditional
They tested different forms and patterns for the black brick work – in a lattice bond design. The 3 layers are illustrated here.
Inspired by Design

10. © NORD Architecture
Teachers’ notes: there are 20,000 perforations and the 130,000 bricks took 14 brick layers to construct. You can ask students to guess the number of bricks used before revealing the answer.
The open pattern of the bricks allows for ventilation across the cooling towers and for illumination at night.
Inspired by Design

11. The completed building looks ‘heavy’ but dignified on the old industrial site.
© Andrew Lee
Inspired by Design

12. Your turn
Take a sketchbook and camera out into your local area and record the buildings – think about their character and materiality. This will be useful for developing a portfolio of work to show at interview.