- Title: Olympic Aquatics Centre inaugurated on time, as Games near
- Date: 4th April 2024
- Summary: SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (MARCH 28, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (French) ONE OF OLYMPIC AQUATIC CENTRE ARCHITECT, LAURE MERIAUD, SAYING: "We have data centres, that can be used to pre-heat water for example, using the heat they produce. We have cutting-edge air treatment technology, based on the principle of recovery. So there you have it, the idea is to be the best we can be today, and we're very proud to have achieved this." POOL AND DIVING PLATFORMS DIVING PLATFORMS POOL VARIOUS OF POOL STARTING LINE (SOUNDBITE) (French) ONE OF OLYMPIC AQUATIC CENTRE ARCHITECT, LAURE MERIAUD, SAYING: "The (room) volume to be heated is huge, so our idea was to make it as small as possible, hence this concave roof that fits the volume we need and greatly reduces the volume to be heated compared to a roof with large beams and a rectangular roof. On top of this, it's beautiful, so that's important to us. It's beautiful, it's made of wood, we're using the structure to be the architecture of the place. Wood is warm, you can let it show, you don't need to add layers of things on top of it. We're also working with seats that are made from recycled plastic. That's it." POOL VARIOUS OF WORKER CLEANING BLEACHERS POOL / BLEACHERS VARIOUS OF SEATS MADE OF RECYCLED PLASTIC POOL
- Embargoed: 18th April 2024 09:20
- Keywords: Aquatics centre Diving Olympics Paralympics Paris Paris 2024 Sports Summer Games Swimming
- Location: SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE
- City: SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Europe,Olympics,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA003224402042024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The Aquatic Centre, one of only two facilities being built in the Paris region for the Paris 2024 Olympics, is officially ready and was inaugurated on Thursday (April 4).
More than 4,000 solar panels on the roof will help heat the pool water up to 27 degrees, while the building's concave wooden beam structure limits the space that needs to be heated and ventilated, architect Laure Meriaud told Reuters.
With 5,000 seats for the public - 2,000 of which are removable - the site is expected to host the artistic swimming and diving events, as well as the qualifying stages of the water polo tournament.
The Aquatic Centre's pool was first filled with water in mid-December 2023. It contains more than 5,500 cubic metres (19,4231 cubic feet) of water. After several filling tests, the pool was definitively filled in February.
This site is the Paris Olympics' most expensive structure, with a budget of 151 million euros (162 million dollars).
Its handover to Paris 2024 became official on April 4 during the inauguration of the site, as the keys were given to Paris 2024 head Tony Estanguet, in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Minor work, such as cleaning and finishing touches, remains to be done for the site to be fully ready.
(Production: Louise Dalmasso) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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