London , England ( CNN ) -- Boasting 6,000 seats , a 360-degree glass viewing concourse and an elliptical race track which required 56 kilometers ( 35 miles ) of surface timber from sustainably-sourced Siberian pine for its construction , the velodrome for the 2012 London Olympics has been unveiled as the pride of local organizers . Pressure to deliver is always a concern for the host city of the quadrennial Olympiad -- with Athens and Atlanta being notable illustrators of the struggle endured in 2004 and 1996 respectively -- and it is a demand keenly felt in the capital of Britain , 18 months before the start of the latest edition of the iconic Games . Olympic Development Agency chairman John Armitt said the completion of the venue marked the site 's `` biggest milestone to-date , '' emphasizing the ambition of all associated with event to maintain the `` on-budget , on-time theme '' set by the velodrome . Whether this goal can be achieved has yet to be seen but lead architect for the cycle-center project , Mike Taylor , told CNN he felt the aesthetic challenge set for his team had been met . `` [ The aesthetic ] was fundamental , because most velodromes end up being on a piece of government land somewhere . This site was always going to be in the Olympic Park , so ... we designed it [ instead ] for legacy . `` We put a ring of glass all the way around the venue because we thought we could landscape the park up to the glass , allowing anybody to walk up and look in to see the cyclists , '' Taylor , of Hopkins Architects , said . Creatively , the team tried to use the vehicle at the center of the building 's function as inspiration ; namely the bicycle . `` We had n't designed a velodrome before , so at the beginning we sat down with the engineers and looked at it with a clean sheet of paper , and I think that was a big advantage , '' Taylor said . `` We decided to base everything on the bicycle -- so the engineering would be infused with that sense of efficiency and lightness . The roof , for instance , is held up with cables that are only 36 millimeters in diameter , [ but ] there 's 100 tonnes of steel in the whole roof , so it 's incredibly efficient . `` On top of that , we have daylight streaming in , very sustainable [ lightning ] ; the model of the bike has been reapplied to the architecture and engineering of the building in this way . '' The echoes of strength provided to the wheels of a bike via the tension of its spokes with the construction of the sweeping roof is obvious , but it proved to be only the first of many hurdles to be crossed in the design and construction process . `` The track is a real piece of difficult furnishing to build . It 's 250 meters long , it 's made up of 40 by 40-millimeter sections , five or six meters in length , of Siberian pine which was specifically selected because the trees grow very straight , '' Taylor said . `` It 's got no expansion joints in it , so when it 's hot and dries out it tends to move up and down , so it sits in a concrete bowl , almost like a piece of furniture . '' The smooth curves of the new oval track , with its vertiginous banks at either end , was designed by specialist Ron Webb . And though the British cyclists -- four-time Olympic gold medallist Chris Hoy among them -- who tested out the decking for the first time seemed happy with the results , Taylor could only look on with envy . `` I 'm a cyclist myself , we 're all dying to have a go , but today it 's their turn . '' The plan is for the $ 150 million stadium to remain at the center of British cycling once the Olympic Games have finished . London 2012 will also have a road-cycle circuit , mountain-bike track and BMX layout to create what is hoped will be an `` all-in-one '' cycling hub for all disciplines .
The velodrome for the 2012 Olympics is the first venue to open in London ahead of Games . The track requires 56 metres of natural track from sustainably - sourced Siberian pine . Lead architect Mike Taylor says the inspiration for the track came from the forest .