Architects Grimshaw to design Olympic Park innovation centre

Architecture firm Grimshaw has been selected to design a new innovation centre at Here East, the 1.2 million sq ft digital and creative campus located on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Business accelerator ENTIQ and evergreen investment fund DV4, the companies behind the scheme, have said the centre will bring together a community of small and big enterprises that will build connected products to improve people’s lives.

Initially, the firms at the Here East hub will focus on sport, health, fashion, design and the Internet of Things.

Grimshaw and ENTIQ are now working together to ensure the tech innovation centre remains in line with the legacy of Britain’s 2012 Olympic Games by promoting sustainability, adaptability and wellbeing.

Grimshaw partner Jolyon Brewis commented: “We are thrilled to be chosen to design this visionary project which will accelerate London’s position as a world-leading technology hub.

“The project brings together our thinking on urban design, architecture and product design to create a unique environment for innovation.”

Claire Cockerton, ENTIQ’s co-founder and CEO of the new innovation centre, said, “Our experience helping organisations innovate and building technology accelerators has shown us how important physical space design is to increase productivity, well-being and improve collaboration.

“Working with Grimshaw, we are bringing design thinking, product innovation, and new ways of working with smaller and local suppliers into the core of this project.”

She continued: “This is critically important to this architectural endeavour as we transform the Olympic Press and Broadcast Centre on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into a thriving technology, business and innovation cluster, which serves the unique and dynamic needs of its members.”

The centre is due to host a soft launch event in October, with an official launch in January 2017.