McAslan to design Olympic ‘energy centres’

John McAslan + Partners has been appointed to draw up plans for two 'energy centres'

John McAslan + Partners has been appointed to draw up plans for two 'energy centres' that will power the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The London-based practice is working with Elyo, a subsidiary of Belgian services giant SUEZ, which was today picked by the Olympic Development Agency (ODA) as preferred bidder to construct the schemes.

Although plans are yet to be finalised, McAslan confirmed that the practice was working on designs for the centres, which will house biomass boilers and a Combined Cooling Heat and Power (CCHP) plant.

When complete, the centres – one of which will lie west of the Olympic Park and the other within the Stratford City development – will provide power, heating and cooling across the Olympic Park and Stratford City both for the Games and for the legacy communities that will develop after 2012.

ODA director of infrastructure and utilities, Simon Wright, said: 'The energy centres will be the heart of the utilities network in the Olympic Park, fuelling not only a summer of world-class sport, but also the lasting regeneration of the area for many years to come.

'Announcing a preferred bidder takes us a step closer to delivering this essential infrastructure and I am confident we will sign terms of agreement in due course,' he added.