Archinect - Features

‘Clearly, The World Cup Format is Not Sustainable’; A Conversation with WilkinsonEyre Sports Director, Sam Wright

2022-12-20T12:03:00-05:00

The 2022 FIFA World Cup was mired in controversy. Human rights groups saw Qatar’s hosting of the event as an affront to the LGBTQ+ community, free speech, and ethical labor practices. Ethics and standards groups investigated whether Qatar had ‘bought’ the event following rumours of bribery. Fans and sporting bodies alike even questioned the timing of the event, and its interference with domestic league calendars.

While these concerns targeted at Qatar at the 2022 World Cup specifically, the event was also a catalyst for environmental groups to ask broader questions about the carbon cost of major temporary sports and cultural events, and whether they can be justified by long-term economic or social benefits. These questions are not new or bespoke to Qatar; they also formed the basis for our feature articles on both Expo 2020 Dubai and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

For WilkinsonEyre’s Sports and Leisure Leader Sam Wright, whose team has delivered an abundance of major sports project...

For Host Cities, the Olympics Are No Game

2021-08-03T13:27:00-04:00

With the 2020 Olympics underway in Tokyo, we reflect on the urban and environmental impacts of the Olympic Games on its host cities. Whether Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024, or Los Angeles 2028, the Olympics suffer from a legacy of fragmenting existing urban environments, accelerating gentrification, and alienating local citizens. Meanwhile, the environmental cost of hosting the Olympics, driven by the construction of new venues and infrastructure, serves as a visible embodiment of our failure to adequately address climate change. Among the challenges, however, there are meaningful steps for improvement.

In honor of the Rio Games, 6 momentous projects from the Olympics' 21st-century history

2016-08-05T12:28:00-04:00

20 kilometer long traffic jams, eleven dead construction workers, and one slain jaguar: the lead-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics has not been problem-free. Zika, pollution and political turmoil came alongside construction delays and problematic venues, with competitors refusing to move into the athletes' village until the wiring was fixed. And yet, aren't these types of problems just par for the course when it comes to the Olympics?