Ralph Applebaum Associates

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, is one of the UK’s largest-ever regeneration projects. The 200-hectare site includes sporting arenas, a rich mix of horticulture and biodiversity with wildflower meadows and animal housing, and over thirty commissioned art pieces.

RAA was commissioned by the Olympic Development Authority to develop two features: a series of “The Knowledge” plaques, which form trails presenting facts and quotes, and a digital app that conveys the socio-cultural history behind the planting schemes.

The bronze plaques capture the heritage of the Olympic Park through stories about regeneration, sustainability, the environment, and the art program. These create an interpretive trail through the Park.

RAA also led the development of a smartphone app and website centered on the gardens. The GPS-enabled app allows users to explore its plants from the world’s major climatic zones. Visitors can listen to audio interviews with landscape designers, learn about the plants’ social history, and collect tips and tools to recreate the planting scheme at home.

Olympic Park was planned to have a life far beyond the Games in 2012, transforming afterwards into “Legacy,” a community park. As part of this ongoing transformation, RAA has been commissioned to create 25 new plaques that describe East London’s regeneration on the site.

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park won the Mayor of London’s prestigious award for “Planning Excellence” at the 2013 London Planning Awards. It is Europe’s most significant landscape project for a generation and the largest new urban park in the capital, making it a catalyst for regeneration in east London.