Here East

Here East is the transformation of the former Press and Broadcast Centres on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into 1.2 million sq ft of space for the creative and digital industries. It is a dedicated place for individuals and companies who embrace and pioneer cutting-edge technology capitalising on some of the fastest broadband speeds in Europe. The two huge buildings were re-purposed to provide spaces ranging from a data centre, broadcast studios and innovation centre at one end of the scale, to new cafes and individual artists’ studios at the other. The flexible workspace was designed to promote collaboration between start-ups and more established businesses, with universities co-located to stimulate innovation through their research and development programmes. An external full-height steel gantry, originally built to support air conditioning units during the games, has been re-purposed as a framework to support artists’ studios which have been innovatively designed and constructed using Wikihouse open-source technology. To make environmental and commercial sense of the 850,000 sq ft former Broadcast Centre, the building was imagined as a ‘crust’ and a ‘core’. The windowless façade was removed to create a 16m deep outer layer with two additional storeys of flexible work, studio and retail spaces around the perimeter of the building - maximising natural daylight, ventilation and views. This was achieved by replacing the centre’s solid façades with glazed curtain walling featuring a ‘dazzle’ pattern frit carefully tuned to the required solar performance. The scale of the Broadcast Centre provided opportunity to create generous floor to ceiling heights and impressive atria. Each reception is generous, accessible and open and has its own character based on industry; the steel mill, the timber yard and the fabric factory. These materials are expressed in reception desks, furnishings and suspended meeting pods. Bright orange wayfinding signage was designed in parallel with the branding for the whole project. The signage features a disrupted font, referencing the disruptive patterns on the façade and the role of disruption in the innovative tech industries. The heart of the deep plan was converted into state of the art broadcast studios for BT Sport and the data centre. The Press Centre interiors lacked the creative character that was being developed across the site. Interventions include exposing the ceiling services throughout the ground floor and creating the enlivened canal side retail frontage from the previous low ceiling offices. The ground floor of the Press Centre now hosts a changing programme of cultural events. In May 2017, a digital archaeology exhibition called '64 Bits' showcased the evolution of the web over 25 years on computers of the era and attracted over 4,000 visitors on one month along with teaching coding skills to over 500 children. Currently the Cloud Cuckoo Land Gallery, with artist Gavin Turk in residence is running an exhibition called Exquisite Garden. This area is open to the public and is regularly visited by schools. The new site is shared between various University College London (UCL) departments, including the Bartlett School of Architecture, and Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. It is here that robots and people come together within a unique and innovative centre for interdisciplinary research, teaching and training in architectural, engineering, heritage and performance-based futures. The brief called for a facility which would support a diverse number of activities, from controlled laboratory work to design studios. A key part of the brief was the need for visibility across the entire facility to encourage collaboration and innovation between the various departments. The co-location of facilities offers UCL opportunities to develop new research, teaching and enterprise programmes, supported by an innovative, unique and flexible building. Both the UCL and Loughborough University work with third party providers to run education streams into local schools and host future opportunity programmes on campus. Here East hosts numerous education events from code clubs, science summer schools and introduction events for young people. Here East is innately sustainable due to retaining and reusing most of the existing structure, building envelope and main HVAC systems designed as the Olympic Media Hub for the 2012 Games. The project savours key sustainable elements of the original project such as the photovoltaic panels integrated with the living roof on the Press Centre to generate electricity and to encourage local biodiversity. The regeneration of the site ties in with the legacy of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park by connecting into existing sustainable transport and energy system connections and charging up the public realm. The provision of retail and restaurant facilities creates a lively and fun destination for passers-by. Here East favours independent businesses to stimulate the local economy and place more focus on local produce. The Press Centre’s vast first floor roof terrace is planted with fruit bearing trees and this fruit is already being used by the cafes and restaurants below. Located on a car free area and within a short walk of the velodrome, aquatics centre and other sports facilities from the Games, the Here East campus has low levels of CO2. Here East was conceived, enabled and delivered within five years from initial expression of interest to project delivery. Fundamental to the successful delivery was a highly phased sectional completion strategy, enabling the earliest handover to committed tenants. BT Sport were in occupation and broadcasting throughout the construction phase. The project was designed in collaboration with the Built Environment Access Panel, set up to ensure Olympic legacy projects are inclusive and accessible; disability charity Scope are now tenants. Here East has met targets for local employment and through Loughborough University on-site, so far 20 young people from the local community are studying for a masters level degree for free. The innovation that will continue to be developed at Here East is fostering growth and diversity across the UK, providing a fitting legacy to the London 2012 Olympic Games.