The Olympic Park with an area of 100 hectares is being created in the east of the British capital by the project of Hargreaves Associates, but it will not exist in the state conceived by these architects for a long time. After the end of the Olympics, the park, like many sports and infrastructure facilities erected for the Games, will be transformed so that it can be effectively used by Londoners in their daily lives. This "post-Olympiad" state is called by the organizers the "legacy" mode.
The idea of George Hargreaves and his workshop will remain in general outline: in particular, the division of the park into southern and northern halves, each with its own functions, will remain. The South, home to all major facilities, including the Zaha Hadid Watersports Center and Anish Kapoor's newly completed ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower, will be packed with infrastructure to host a variety of events and serve the flow of tourists and townspeople. Plants from all over the world will be planted there. The northern one, on the contrary, looks more like a forest park: it combines a recreational function with an ecological one, for example, the flora there will be natural for these places, and it is also planned to provide an optimal habitat for the fauna.
The South Zone after the Games will be designed by the American landscape bureau Field Operations in cooperation with the British workshop Make and the prominent Dutch gardener Piet Oudolf. It provides for the creation of various "entertainment gardens" with multifunctional "playgrounds" and a "hub" building at the foot of the ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower (the observation deck at the top of this "tower" will become a point of attraction for tourists). This is a modest but spacious building that will accommodate cafes, halls for exhibitions and concerts, etc.
The British erect architecture workshop in the northern part of the park also envisioned a hub with a variety of functions; its timber cladding should blend in with the natural landscape. In addition, the park will have swings, tree houses and similar "traditional" entertainment for children. Otherwise, children will have to find their own entertainment: build huts, play hide and seek, etc.
