Archinect - News

Now that the Olympics have ended, what's in store for Rio's stadiums?

2016-08-23T18:05:00-04:00

Future Arena, the handball venue, will be taken apart and the pieces used to build four schools around the city, each serving 500 students. [...] the city will turn the aquatics stadium into two community swimming centers; the media center will become a high school dorm; and the 300 acres of land on which Barra Olympic Park currently sits will go be turned over for public parks and private development.

In honor of the Olympics, French artist JR installs giant athletes in Rio

2016-08-04T13:16:00-04:00

The French artist who goes by JR, known for flyposting large-scale photographs in cities around the world, has set up shop in Rio, just in time for the Olympic opening ceremony this Friday. As part of his ongoing worldwide Inside Out project, and under the invitation of the IOC, he's installed two giant sculptures of athletes in the city, posed in such a way that Rio itself is their stadium.

One is a diver, in a swan pose over the Barra da Tijuca, the other a high-jumper, curving over the top of the Hilton Santos in the Flamengo neighborhood. The athletes are made from printed fabric stretched over a scaffolding frame, and have been under construction since June.

h/t The Spaces

Check out more news from Rio:

Rio's streets clog with traffic as visitors arrive for the Olympics

2016-08-02T13:43:00-04:00

Special traffic regulations giving priority to athletes and VIP visitors to the Rio 2016 games have caused 20km (12.5 mile) traffic jams in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, days ahead of the opening ceremony. Since the new dedicated Olympic lanes opened on Monday, traffic during the morning rush hour has been reduced to a crawl with average speeds of less than 15 km per hour, according to O Globo.

Opening on Friday, the Rio Olympic Games aren't exactly going smoothly. Athletes are refusing to move into the apparently-incomplete Olympic Village. The city's favelas are "rapidly gentrifying", —displacing families, in the meantime. Workers are dying. Construction contracts for stadiums have been cancelled. And the government is in shambles.

But here at Archinect we're still going to focus on all things game-related for our special August theme, Games. Check out more relevant articles here. And submit to our open call for new versions of that classic real estate game, Monopoly, by Sunday, August 21.

A look at penda's elegant San Shan Bridge

2016-07-28T14:55:00-04:00

It's rare that spectacle and nuance combine effortlessly, but an exception can be made for the lithe sculptural form of the San Shan Bridge. The bridge, which translated into English means "three mountains," will serve as a shapely conduit between Beijing and the river valleys of Zhangjiakou during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. According to architects penda, "the formal inspiration for the San Shan Bridge is a conjunction of its undulating surrounding and the meaning of the Olympic symbol, which consists of ﬁve interlaced rings of equal dimensions... ‘Entering the rings’ on the way to the Olympic competitions, should be seen as an contextual icon for the Games."

The bridge is a fresh and visually striking play on the use of Olympic imagery: as it crosses the Gui River, it not only makes reference to the well-worn ring symbol, but has a certain DNA helix quality. Vegetation flanks the alabaster pedestrian walkways, which expand into viewing platforms.

Aside from its sculptural elegan...

Athletes refuse to move into Rio's Olympic Village, citing “blocked toilets, leaking pipes and exposed wiring”

2016-07-25T17:09:00-04:00

Sunday was supposed to be move-in day for many athletes, but the leader of the Australian Olympic delegation said its athletes would not be checking in because of problems with the gas, electricity and plumbing. [...] delegations from Britain, New Zealand and other countries were experiencing similar problems in the village, which is in an area of western Rio called Barra da Tijuca.

The official start to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will go ahead on August 5, despite ongoing concerns over the spread of the Zika virus, political upheaval, economic distress, polluted competition waters, and now, questionable athlete facilities.

Rio mayor admits Olympics were a “missed opportunity”, but believes the city has been unfairly portrayed

2016-07-14T17:49:00-04:00

“This is a missed opportunity,” Paes acknowledged. “We are not showcasing ourselves. With all these economic and political crises, with all these scandals, it is not the best moment to be in the eyes of the world. This is bad.” But he also believes the problems are exaggerated by the press in a way that unfairly portrays Rio to the outside world...“There has never been so much transformation for poor people [in Rio]...The Olympic Games are a great inspiration to get things done.”

The rapid gentrification of Rio's favelas in advance of the Olympics

2016-06-15T13:22:00-04:00

For decades, state neglect forced a pace of progress that was slow and painful in Rio’s favelas, which – unlike many other informal settlements around the world – have a largely stable population. While some residents express satisfaction that state involvement has brought new income streams and improved security, there is anger that changes are imposed from outside, without consultation with residents.

For more on the upcoming Rio Olympic Games, check out these links:

Rio Olympics "must be postponed, moved, or both" due to Zika threat

2016-05-13T18:40:00-04:00

Scientists can disagree on how much the mass migration of 500,000 foreigners will accelerate the virus’s global spread and make the pandemic worse—but none can possibly argue that it will slow it down or make things better. [...] “Olympism seeks to create … social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles”. [...] But for the Games, would anyone recommend sending an extra half a million visitors into Brazil right now?

Not to mention Brazil's ongoing corruption scandal, that just yesterday resulted in President Dilma Rousseff being kicked out of the Presidential palace, as the impeachment trial against her begins.

Related on Archinect:

11 workers have died so far during Rio Olympic construction, audit finds

2016-04-26T13:46:00-04:00

Eleven people died while working on Olympic facilities or Games-related projects between January 2013 and March 2016, according to a report released Monday by Rio de Janeiro's Regional Labor and Employment Office. The report, released by Elaine Castilho, the auditor for the Rio Olympic Games works, also notes that no workers died in the preparations for the 2012 Summer Games in London.

With the Rio Olympics opening in less than four months, sports federation concerned over problem with venues

2016-04-22T13:24:00-04:00

International sports federations expressed concern Tuesday over problems with venues for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, including power failures at the gymnastics arena this week. Members of the Association of Olympic International Sports Federations reviewed preparations for the Rio Games, which open in less than four months on Aug. 5. "They miss some very important details in each field of play," ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said at the group's annual meeting.

Another tragic setback occurred yesterday when a seaside section of a recently inaugurated elevated bike path collapsed after being hit by a powerful wave, killing two people and injuring at least three others. A possible third victim may have been swept out into the ocean.

More Rio 2016 headlines in the Archinect news:

Brazil's economy is a mess and its President is facing impeachment. Can Rio make it to the Olympics?

2016-04-12T17:57:00-04:00

For Brazil’s economy, the near future probably features a period of stagnation, as a government paralyzed by political crisis dodges the tough choices created by strong inflation, rising budget deficits and, at best, a touch of economic growth in 2017 after hitting rock bottom in 2016. [...] Demonstrators have turned out in numbers larger than in 1984 — when Brazilians of all stripes united to throw off military rule— to demand [President] Rousseff’s ouster

As reported by Reuters today, a congressional committee has recommended impeaching President Rousseff, partially in response to charges that during her 2014 re-election, she broke campaigning budget laws. This Sunday, the entire lower house will vote, and if the decision to impeach receives two-thirds majority, it will continue to Brazil's Senate.

From Reuters:

The political chaos in the capital, Brasilia, is playing out less than 100 days before the nation plays host to the first Olympic Games to be held in South America - an event that will cast the world's eyes on Brazil.

The battle over Rousseff's impeachment has polarized the nation of 200 million people and brought the government of Latin America's largest economy to a virtual standstill.

All this in the midst of a gigantic corruption scandal within the state-run oil company Petrobras, anxiety from the ongoing Zika virus, and weak Olympic ticket sales – although, thankfully, Olympic preparations are "ahead of schedule" for the op...

Rio cancels construction contract for unfinished Olympic tennis center – 200 days before the games open

2016-01-15T13:01:00-05:00

The city of Rio de Janeiro canceled the construction contract for the Olympic tennis center on Thursday, just 200 days before the start of the games, fining the consortium responsible for delays and breach of contract for the mostly finished venue. [...] Rio City Hall, which is responsible for the construction, did not say how the tennis center, which is 90-percent complete, will be finished.

Brazilian engineering companies building Olympic venues "very probably" broke laws, accepted bribes

2015-11-24T13:18:00-05:00

Brazilian police investigating corruption around the state-run oil firm Petrobras also plan to investigate more than $10bn of construction contracts for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, according to a lead investigator on the case. Some of the big engineering companies caught up in the Petrobras inquiry “very probably” broke laws against price-fixing and bribery on contracts to build Olympic venues, said Igor Romario, a federal police chief and key figure in the investigation.

Related coverage:

Will Rio's Olympic venues be ready in time for the 2016 Games?

2015-08-06T10:19:00-04:00

'When these [2007 Pan Am] venues were built the government told Brazilians that these would be Olympic-ready, and there would be a rather smooth and efficient transition to eventually hosting the Olympics,' explained Rio-based reporter Taylor Barnes...'But, these venues have instead had some pretty checkered after-lives.'

Despite a murky past of broken promises in addition to recent water-safety concerns and rampant economic turmoil, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes claims construction of the venues are on schedule and will be delivered on time for the 2016 Olympics -- which will begin one year from now. Public Radio International interviews Rio-based reporter Taylor Barnes, who gives a glimpse into the reality of the situation.

More Olympic news on Archinect:

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Rio's ambitious "Porto Maravilha" redevelopment

2015-01-09T14:14:00-05:00

"They should be stimulating residential projects both for richer and poorer people, to make this a mixed area, and not another neighbourhood for privileged Brazilians." - president of the Brazilian Institute of Architecture in Rio, Pedro da Luz

Julia Carneiro writes about the ongoing makeover of Rio's long-abandoned harbour region. Although the project includes a large investment in public infrastructure, there are concerns over the fate 32,000 people, most of them on low incomes who live in the area.