Area in northern half of the park to reopen a year after the Games

Erect Architecture has submitted plans for a community centre, café and playground in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

It is the first planning applications to be submitted by — and to — the new London Legacy Development Corporation, which replaced the Olympic Park Legacy Corporation in April.

The unelected mayoral development corporation has plan-making and development control powers over the Olympic Park area.

Erect was picked from a shortlist of five to create a community hub in the wilder, northern half of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which will reopen a year after the Games.

The Hackney practice beat Cottrell & Vermeulen, David Kohn Architects, the Landscape Partnership and Ushida Findlay Associates.

Its 1.75ha scheme is centred on a 550sq m timber-clad, green-roofed building containing a café, lavatories and a flexible space that can be split into two rooms for community use or lessons.

The ecology-themed play space is described as having “some of the most imaginative play facilities in the UK”, with sand, water, boulders, treetop platforms, bridges and walkways.

Barbara Kaucky, director at Erect Architecture, said: “It is a great feeling to be able to play a role in ensuring that the Games leave behind a sustainable legacy.”

Plans for a sister community hub in the South Park by Make and James Corner Field Operations are also due to be submitted within weeks.