It was one of the main venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Paralympics. The centre was used for the swimming, diving and synchronised swimming events.

It was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid in 2004 before London won the bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The centre was built alongside the Water Polo Arena, and opposite the Olympic Stadium on the opposite bank of the Waterworks River. The site is 45 metres high, 160 metres long and 80 metres wide.

The complex has a 50m competition pool, a 25m competition diving pool and a 50m warm-up pool. The 50m pool is 3 metres deep, like the one in the Beijing National Aquatics Center, in order to be fast. Its floor can be moved to reduce the depth. There are also moveable booms that allow its size to be changed. The diving pool has platform boards at heights of 3m, 5m, 7.5m and 10m and three 3m springboards.[5] For the television coverage of the Olympics, the pools were also equipped with innovative cameras in order to present the action from multiple angles.

Because the centre was designed before the Olympic bid was completed, the spectator wings were not part of the original design. They were later added to fit the estimated audience.
Jacques Rogge, IOC President, described the Centre as a masterpiece.

After the Paralympic Games, the Aquatic Centre was deconstructed to result in a smaller space.