More signs of regeneration in East End on eve of London 2012

By David Gold at the White Building in Stratford

July 13 - The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) will this weekend open the doors of a derelict building brought back to life as part of the regeneration of the area around the London 2012 Olympic Park.

The White Building (pictured above and below) is an artistic space with a café which will bring thousands of Londoners together through the mediums of art, education and community.

The building was a former print works and includes studio space for artists, event spaces for community use and a canal side café, just minutes away from the Olympic Park.

It is hoped that it will become a key part of the community and serve part of the legacy of the London 2012 Games through the wider regeneration of the surrounding areas.

The White Building is to become a part of the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park which will be opened in July 2013.

That will be after a huge reconstruction effort following this summer's Olympics and Paralympics as the Olympic Park is turned into a new neighbourhood in the East End of London.

A mixture of houses, flats and riverside properties will sit alongside Olympic venues, with 11,000 new homes being built by the LLDC in the next 25 years.

Daniel Moylan, chairman of the LLDC, visited the building to have a look around the new venue today.


"We will create a stunning Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park after the Games with super connections to the surrounding communities that will spread the benefits of the investment made," he said.

"The White Building and our other public realm projects are examples of how we are already delivering an Olympic legacy now.

"Small interventions like this can make a big difference in building community spirit and improving the quality of areas around the park.

"It is another example of how legacy plans are more advanced than any previous Olympic host city."

The building was designed and fitted out by David Kohn architects, and will be run by SPACE, an arts and education charity.

SPACE chief executive Anna Harding said: "The White Building is a new sort of space where creative people can come together, with a focus on work at the intersection of art, technology and sustainability."

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