The August issue of Blueprint focuses on the Olympics: from Beijing to London. Tim Abrahams writes about China’s push to develop Beijing in time for the Games and looks at the city through the prism of two of its major stadiums: the 1950s Workers’ Stadium and the remarkable new National Stadium by Herzog and de Meuron. Abrahams’ account reveals the prejudice and parochialism behind the west’s portrayal of China.

Meanwhile in London our correspondent Herbert Wright struggled to get information about the London 2012 event. The Olympic Delivery Authority, paranoid in its fear of negative publicity, prevents architects who are working on the venues from speaking to the press. Nevertheless Wright provides an up to date account of the current state of the London site.

Disappointed by the authorities’ information blockade and failure to engage the British public with what is happening on the site, Blueprint commissioned architecture collective The Office for Subversive Architecture to design a public viewing platform. At 6am on 12 June we installed the platform alongside the 3m high blue fence that rings the site, providing views to the location of the new stadium. Point of View was the first viewing platform built for the benefit of the public. It was removed after 60 hours by ODA security.

more >>