Olympia London belongs to a family of Victorian structures that still define the city’s public life. Just 35 years younger than Crystal Palace, the sprawling centre joins a line of spaces that have supported London’s trade, transport and cultural activity over time. St Pancras Station, Covent Garden and Smithfield Market – which is also being regenerated – were all built in its century, each conceived as a structural superlative. The engineering accolade in Olympia’s case was its debut as the largest enclosed space in England. Approximately 7,000 square metres of its Grand Hall sat beneath a giant, glazed barrel-vaulted roof, today repurposed as part of 2.5 acres of public realm and a new cultural district.