PressClub United Kingdom · Article.
BMW Group reveals winning design for Olympic pavilion
Tue Feb 07 12:00:00 CET 2012 Press Release
Official Automotive Partner selects young British firm Serie following sustainable design competition
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Chris Overall
BMW Group
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BMW Group, Official Automotive Partner to the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games, today revealed the winning design for its pavilion at the Olympic Park.
Following a competition involving six architecture firms, BMW selected the British firm Serie based on its cutting-edge design that will represent a significant architectural addition to the Olympic Park, whilst also reflecting the company’s deep commitment to sustainability.
Tim Abbott, Managing Director, BMW Group UK comments: “As a major investor, manufacturer and employer in the UK, BMW Group is deeply proud to be an official partner for Britain’s first Olympic & Paralympic Games since 1948.”
“This commitment to the UK is also reflected in our choice of a home-grown architecture practice to design our pavilion and we’re delighted that Serie’s final design reflects our commitment to sustainable thinking in such an innovative and eye-catching manner. We believe it provides a truly worthy addition to the Olympic Park”.
About the BMW pavilion
BMW’s pavilion, which has a floor space of 800m2, will be built on an elevated site above the Waterworks River, situated between the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre. Serie’s innovative design will use river water to provide a sustainable source of cooling for the building before returning this filtered water to the river via an eye-catching ‘water curtain’ feature.
Every element of the BMW pavilion has been designed to reflect the company’s heritage in environmental innovation. The two-storey superstructure will be built of steel with high recycled content. Use of carbon-intensive materials such as concrete has also been minimised.
Serie co-founder and principal architect Christopher Lee comments: “The design takes the idea of the pavilion in the park – the Victorian bandstand – but instead of one pavilion we envision nine pavilions clustered together to form a family.”
The top floor will house a number of individual standalone pavilions, which will be used to highlight BMW’s latest vehicle innovations.
The lower floor will house a range of interactive visitor exhibits, articulating BMW’s vision for sustainable mobility and support for Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes including Rebecca Adlington, Tom Daley, Louis Smith and David Weir through the BMW London 2012 Performance Team programme. Over 8,000 visitors are expected to visit the BMW pavilion each day during the Olympic & Paralympic Games.
As Official Automotive Partner to London 2012 and a tier one sponsor, BMW Group will provide a fleet of around 4,000 vehicles to transport athletes and officials during the Games. This vehicle fleet will combine sustainable technologies including electric, hybrid and low-emissions diesel technologies to meet LOCOG’s challenging emissions target of 120g/km CO2 across the fleet.
BMW Group has also been ranked as the world’s most sustainable automobile company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the last seven consecutive years and is the only car manufacturer to have featured in these rankings every year since their launch.
Ends
Notes to Editors
BMW as a London 2012 Partner
BMW will provide 4,000 low emission diesel, hybrid and electric cars as well as motor cycles and bicycles to the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) in support of the Games. These will principally be used as shuttles for athletes, officials, media, employees of the LOCOG, representatives of the national Olympic committees, the international sporting bodies of the IOC and sponsors.
LOCOG set ambitious CO2 emission targets for its operational vehicle fleet at London 2012. BMW will provide vehicles that average less than the 120g CO2 per kilometre required by LOCOG.
The BMW Group
With its three brands – BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce – the BMW Group is one of the world’s most successful premium manufacturers of cars and motorcycles. It operates internationally with 24 production sites in 13 countries and a global sales network with representation in more than 140 countries.
During the financial year 2010, the BMW Group sold 1.46 million cars and more than 110,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for 2010 was euro 4.8 billion on revenues amounting to euro 60.5 billion. At 31 December 2010, the BMW Group had a workforce of approximately 95,500 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last seven years.
BMW Group’s contribution to UK economy
A new report published by Oxford Economics makes clear the significance of BMW Group’s business operations to the UK economy. The key findings of the study show:
- The activities of BMW Group contribute £1.2 billion each year to UK GDP
- For every additional £1 contribution to UK GDP directly generated by the company and its dealer network, £2.20 in GDP is created across the UK economy
- BMW Group and its dealer network employ 18,000 people directly while supporting over 46,000 UK jobs in total
- 80 per cent of MINIs and 90 per cent of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars are exported. In total, £2.4 billion worth of cars and engines are exported each year, accounting for around one per cent of all goods exported by UK companies
- BMW Group and its dealer network spend nearly £1.2 billion each year sourcing goods and services from UK-based suppliers through the payment of employee income tax, national insurance contributions, business rates and VAT on vehicle sales, the activities of BMW Group and its dealer network directly contribute over £900 million per annum to the UK Exchequer
Serie Architects
Serie Architects is winner of the BD Young Architect of the Year Award for 2010. With offices in London, Mumbai and Beijing, Serie Architects provides full architecture and urban design services for the private and public sectors.
For further information please contact:
Toan Ravenscroft freud communications
Tel: 02030 036 684 Email: Toan.Ravenscroft@freud.com
Michelle Roberts Corporate Communications Manager London 2012
Tel: 01344 480 719 Email: Michelle.Roberts@bmw.co.uk