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Samantha Stevens, , LDA

Cleaning up 200ha of contaminated land may not be everyone鈥檚 idea of a dream job, but Samantha Stevens loves it. She鈥檚 part of the team in charge of remediating the 2012 site and getting all the contractors working together to clear the land so that building can begin.

She鈥檚 under no illusion about the scale of the task. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think a remediation scheme has been done to this size before. That鈥檚 quite hard to manage from a strategic point of view down to the detail of minimising waste and hitting the sustainability targets for the scheme.鈥�

Stevens says that no two days in land remediation are the same. 鈥淚鈥檝e worked on sites only a couple of miles away and the challenges are completely different.鈥� For the last year, she鈥檚 been discussing the designs with the ODA, communicating the client鈥檚 objectives to the contractors and keeping an eye on how the land remediation strategy will affect the legacy of the site.

The sheer scale of the site means Stevens can take advantage of a once-in-a-career opportunity to explore technologies 鈥� for example soil washing, which involves literally rinsing the chemicals out of the finer material. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to maximise use of technologies that are available in the UK but not widely used. You really can鈥檛 do that with the constraints you have on a smaller project.鈥� They鈥檙e also going to share the equipment across contractors to ensure efficiency. 鈥淚f we only need one soil washing plant, we鈥檒l only have one.鈥�

Like her colleagues on other parts of the project, the legacy of the 2012 is never far from Steven鈥檚 mind. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing opportunity to work on a scheme this size because you have such an impact on the major regeneration of an area. It鈥檚 nice to think you鈥檙e bringing something back that used to be derelict. Once in a while you pinch yourself and realise how lucky you are to be working on such a great project.鈥�

Bob Brown, senior contracts manager, Murphys

Helen, Fionnuala, Sonia and Lucille are the most important members of Bob Brown鈥檚 team. It鈥檚 not that he presides over an especially glamorous undergrounding crew 鈥� these are the tunnel boring machines digging away beneath the 2012 site.

In January, Brown became one of the first people to start work at Stratford, burying the existing power lines beneath the ground so that construction of the venues for 2012 can begin.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very demanding programme,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 13km of tunnels to be built. We always give the machines female names. When we talk about how it鈥檚 going, we ask 鈥榟ow鈥檚 Helen doing?鈥�, 鈥榟ow鈥檚 Sonia doing?鈥欌�� Because of the tight timescales, the tunnel machines were sourced from other projects. Fionnuala was named by primary school children in Ireland; Helen was named by previous owners in England; Sonia and Lucille are from the US and are called after the previous owner鈥檚 ancestors.

So far, all four of the machines seem to be doing pretty well and Brown is pleased. 鈥淲e鈥檝e sunk four shafts, we鈥檙e sinking three, we鈥檝e got a kilometre of tunnel built and the vertical and horizontal conveyor systems are installed and working. It鈥檚 good to see it come together in a very short time.鈥�

Olympic glamour aside, Brown admits that to him, it鈥檚 a tunnelling project first and foremost. The best thing about it has been the attitude on the part of all those involved and, he adds, the client. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a commitment to getting the job built. Everyone realises the importance of the project.鈥�

With 250 operatives onsite and 60 managers, and QSs, Brown spends a lot of his time worrying about health and safety. So far, it鈥檚 paying off. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got a high commitment to health and safety, we鈥檙e doing well but there鈥檚 always room for improvement,鈥� he says. That鈥檚 not the only thing that keeps him awake at night though. 鈥淢y greatest fear is a serious machine breakdown. We鈥檝e got very good machine crews, so we鈥檙e well covered, but a major machine failure is every tunnellers nightmare. The important thing is planned maintenance 鈥� it鈥檚 like your car, if you don鈥檛 look after it, it鈥檒l let you down.鈥�

Michelle Saywood, urban designer and associate director at EDAW

If masterplanning the Lower Lea Valley was an Olympic sport it would probably be a Marathon.

Michelle Saywood has already spent a year working out how all the different elements should fit together but she鈥檚 still got a long old slog ahead of her. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got an aspiration, but there鈥檚 an awful lot of work to go though before we can see what the masterplan should be,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he timetable is incredibly long 鈥� completion is another five or six years away.鈥� Right now she鈥檚 in that first sprint before the 2012 masterplan goes in for planning in January 2007 鈥� she ruefully admits that an average day sees her in the office from eight in the morning until seven at night.

Once that milestone is passed, it鈥檚 on to the legacy. For Saywood, this is one of the most exciting aspects of the project. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why 2012 is fantastic. We鈥檙e looking at how you can transform east London. We鈥檙e pushing to develop a masterplan that鈥檚 not just about development but setting the scene for how the place could be in the future.鈥�

Saywood鈥檚 five-strong team are at the heart of the development plans and are responsible for co-ordinating and assimilating the work of all the other organisations involved, including Arup, Atkins, Foreign Office Architects, HOK and Buro Happold. 鈥淣ever have I worked on a project with so many different teams and offices. We deal with at least five different disciplines each day 鈥� and of course the client. You really step out of your mould to do something that is quite unique.鈥� This is their greatest achievement to date, she says 鈥� and the greatest source of frustration. 鈥淚t gets incredibly stressful at times, there are so many people demanding different things.鈥�

At the moment, she鈥檚 working with superstar Zaha Hadid on the designs for the Aquatic Centre, which you might well expect to be pretty stressful. Saywood says not. 鈥淚鈥檝e thoroughly enjoyed it actually.鈥�

As for the rest of the team, many were on the original bid so they already know each other pretty well. 鈥淲e鈥檝e worked together for a long time so we know each other quite intimately. We do go down the pub now, it鈥檚 getting better and better.鈥�