London Aquatics Centre receives facilities management accolade
The London Aquatic Centre – designed by the late Zaha Hadid – has become the first London 2012 venue to achieve an ‘excellent’ rating in Sport England’s facility assessment, Quest.
In order to achieve the accolade the centre went through a mystery visit and a two-day assessment. It was recognised for its “excellent swimming lessons”, event management and legacy programme.
Quest, according to Sport England, is a “tool for continuous improvement” aimed at the management of sports facilities, which encourages good practice and a customer-focused management framework.
Gregg Holland, venue manager at the London Aquatics Centre, said he was “very proud” to be recognised for the award.
“Quest is not a tick-box exercise; it is an ongoing programme of assessments to help us improve our facility for both our customers and staff, and a great way to demonstrate our achievements since we re-opened for the public,” he added.
“By meeting Quest's high standards for excellent centres, London Aquatics Centre has shown its commitment not only to provide quality facilities and service to its customers, but also to fulfil its Olympic promise of providing a lasting legacy,” said Quest director Caroline Constantine.
Located in the Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford, London, the London Aquatics Centre was used for swimming, diving and synchronised swimming events during the 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games.
The venue has welcomed more than 1.7m visitors in two years, hosting 3,600 adults and children who are learning to swim each week and staging a number of events such as the Invictus Games and the British Swimming Championships. It is operated by charitable enterprise GLL on behalf of the London Legacy Development Corporation.
Costing £269m (US$379.2m, €333.5m) to build, the London Aquatics Centre was nominated for RIBA’s prestigious Stirling Prize in 2014. It was designed by renowned architect Zaha Hadid, who passed away last week.
Sport England London Aquatics Centre London 2012 Zaha HadidUAE’s first Dior Spa debuts in Dubai at Dorchester Collection’s newest hotel, The Lana
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Three years after Pegasus Capital bought Six Senses, how close is the private equity firm to realising its goals for its first spa and hospitality investment? Pegasus’ founder Craig Cogut tells us what’s been achieved and what comes next