Archinect - News

A look back at when architects competed for Olympic glory

2021-07-26T16:21:00-04:00

Friday's Opening Ceremony in Tokyo inaugurated the XXXII Olympiad in a dazzling spectacle that drew praise from audiences worldwide even as a growing protest against the games echoed in streets around the city. Kengo Kuma’s National Stadium provided an ample backdrop for this year’s version of a tradition begun in Ancient Greece and revived again by the progressive Olympic movement that fostered an elementary version of the modern-day games at the end of the 19th century.

Pierre de Coubertin’s intents for a combined international athletic and artistic competition traced its philosophy to the Hellenic notions of mind and body harmony and was formally observed until being dissipated by an indifferent OC as the games became more and more commercialized following World War II.

What has since become an annual exhibition saw its fulfillment in the electric arts program that preceded the ceremonial torch lighting that kicks off the Olympics following the Parade of Nations. Featuring an a...

Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be postponed, says IOC member, despite completed venues

2020-03-23T14:46:00-04:00

Veteran International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound told USA TODAY Sports Monday afternoon that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are going to be postponed, likely to 2021, with the details to be worked out in the next four weeks. [...] “It will come in stages,” he said. “We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.”

While the IOC has not responded directly to veteran member Dick Pound's statement from today, the Committee did signal its commitment to scenario-planning for "changes to the start date of the Games" yesterday amid new outbreaks of COVID-19 in IOC member countries.

This development comes only days after Japan's announcement of the completion of all new permanent venues for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, including the Kengo Kuma-designed Tokyo National Olympic Stadium.

All construction of permanent Olympic venues in Tokyo is now complete

2020-03-10T12:53:00-04:00

Construction of all new permanent venues for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics is now complete, organizers said Friday, as preparations continue despite worries over the new coronavirus outbreak. The announcement comes as the International Olympic Committee insisted this week that a potential cancellation or postponement of the Games due to the virus was "not mentioned" at a meeting of their Executive Board.

According to Japan Today, the last venue to be completed was the Tokyo Aquatics Center for swimming, diving, and artistic swimming. It will seat 15,000 fans for the Olympic and Paralympic games. "The main pool features a movable wall allowing the 50-meter facility to be converted into two 25-meter pools," reports Japan Today.

Concerning the coronavirus, Japan Today reports that "organizers have been battling to reassure athletes and would-be spectators that the Games remain on track despite the spread of COVID-19."

Kengo Kuma: 'My dream is to start my own school'

2019-06-19T18:52:00-04:00

INT: Do you think sustainability in architecture is less of an issue in Japan? KK: Historically, traditional Japanese architecture uses very sustainable designs that incorporate features such as natural ventilation instead of air conditioning, and things like that. But in the 20th century, as Western culture came to Japan, we forgot these kinds of designs. That’s what I’m trying to go back to.

"My dream is to start my own school and pass my lessons on to younger generations in the same way that Frank Lloyd Wright did with his School of Architecture at Taliesin [in Wisconsin]," Kengo Kuma told It's Nice That when asked about his future aspirations. "He has inspired me in many ways, but I think this has been his biggest influence on me. It will be an international school in Tokyo, where students will be taught the art of building in harmony with nature."

The Kengo Kuma-designed V&A Dundee in Scotland opened in 2018. Photo: Beth/Flickr

Tokyo Olympic Stadium: construction progress 'as planned'

2018-09-10T14:01:00-04:00

But so far, things have remained “on schedule,” and the Olympic stadium is on pace to be completed by the end of next year. [...] Takeo Takahashi, the general manager of the stadium project, told the media that “roughly four-tenths” of the construction has been completed, but the situation is “as planned.”

It's been deliberately quiet around the NEW New National Stadium in Tokyo after the original, winning design by Zaha Hadid Architects was publicly attacked, and eventually officially canceled by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe himself, and a replacement Olympic Stadium scheme was hastily selected from a pool of two established Japanese architects and expedited to break ground in December 2016.

Kengo Kuma's stadium design is currently under construction and scheduled for completion by November 2019.

But things appear to be going well now; the press was even invited by the Japan Sports Council this summer to tour the massive construction site and document the progress.

Kengo Kuma's Tokyo Olympic Stadium breaks ground

2016-12-13T17:29:00-05:00

Tokyo has held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $1.5bn (£1.2bn) national stadium that will host the 2020 Olympic Games. The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, Tokyo’s governor, Yuriko Koike, and other dignitaries attended the event on Sunday at the site of the demolished national stadium that was used during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. [...] The ceremony ended with a video showing how the stadium is expected to look and function once completed by November 2019.

A quick refresher, here are just a few instances of the Tokyo Olympic Stadium saga in the Archinect news:

Zaha Hadid ineligible to participate in Tokyo Stadium design-build competition

2015-09-18T15:38:00-04:00

In the headache-inducing whirlwind regarding Japan's New National Stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Zaha Hadid Architects and Japanese engineering company Nikken Sekkei announced their ineligibility to participate in the design-and-build competition for the stadium's redesign. Why? Because they couldn't secure a construction company for their consortium, which they struggled with after ZHA's previous design was scrapped, mostly due to an inflated ¥252 billion price-tag. ZHA's latest announcement follows a snazzy 23-minute video and a 91-page report they put out last month, wherein they asserted their case for Japan to keep the previous stadium design. Earlier this month, the team intended to submit a new bid for the project.

From Zaha Hadid Architects' New National Stadium Report - August 2015.

But not too surprisingly, ZHA's announcement on their ineligibility is no swan song for their involvement in the project, and they continue to convey the same sense of determination. Despite...

Are uncompetitive Japanese contractors to blame for Zaha's New National Stadium budget blowout?

2015-07-29T13:43:00-04:00

Zaha Hadid Architects is not going away quietly, but cogently. In a statement forwarded by the Japan Olympic Committee, ZHA details the origins of what would eventually become the budget fracas over the cancelled New National Stadium, noting that early in the design process "we advised the JSC [Japan Sport Council] that working to an immovable completion deadline, against a backdrop of rocketing annual increases in the cost of building in Tokyo, and in the absence of any international competition, the early selection of a limited number of construction contractors would not lead to a commercially competitive process."

Here's the full statement:

Our teams in Japan and the UK feel it is necessary to set the record straight on the Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) design for the new National Stadium for Japan, which has been developed to the client’s brief and budget. It is also only right that the Japanese people are fully aware of the reasons for the reported budget increase and, with exact...

Zaha Hadid: My design for the New National Stadium is not the problem

2015-07-28T13:08:00-04:00

According to a statement issued on Zaha Hadid's website, the project-ending cost of the New National Stadium is not the fault of the design, but rather the "inflated costs of construction in Tokyo, a restricted and uncompetitive approach to appointing construction contractors, and a restriction on collaboration between the design team and appointed construction contractors." The stadium, whose controversial design has spawned a series of derisive memes, was shut down after officials announced the cost would be 250 billion yen (approximately $2 billion U.S. dollars). The cost shocked design committee chairman Tadao Ando, who made a similar statement about the inflated construction costs in Japan.

In her statement, Hadid goes on to say that the arched roof structure was carefully designed so that it could be built in tandem with the seating bowl, and by Japanese engineering and design team estimates should only cost 23 billion yen. Hadid also notes that due to an increase in the price...

“I thought, ‘What?’ when I heard it would cost ¥252 billion,” Tadao Ando says about National Stadium

2015-07-16T14:32:00-04:00

World-famous architect Tadao Ando was astonished to learn that the design he chose for the new National Stadium would cost ¥252 billion to build, he said at a press conference Thursday, where he spoke for the first time since the swelling cost became an issue.

According to Reuters, the massive ballooning in the construction costs of Zaha Hadid's relatively unpopular proposed design for Japan's National Stadium are not the fault of the chairman of the design committee, Tadao Ando: "Soaring construction and labor costs, along with a rise in Japan's sales tax, are blamed for much of the price surge." Ando also noted that “We shouldn’t drop Ms. Hadid’s design, otherwise we’ll lose credibility internationally.” The enormous increase in the cost of the stadium is awkward, as the country is still not fully recovered from the devastation of the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Tokyo Olympic Stadium Entry by MenoMenoPiu Architects & FHF Architectes

2013-03-19T17:53:00-04:00

A little while ago, we reported about Zaha Hadid Architects taking the first prize in the New National Stadium Japan competition and the selection of the 11 finalist projects. Here is now another design proposal for Tokyo's proposed Olympic Stadium which didn't quite make it among the final submissions: "The Twist" by French MenoMenoPiu Architects & FHF Architectes.

Designing the ‘World’s Greatest Stadium - Japan National Stadium

2012-11-20T11:11:00-05:00

As cultural and architectural icons, sporting stadiums are extremely important to a city’s built of environment. As such, the structures maintain a high profile and promise acclaim to those who design and deliver them well.

Zaha Hadid Wins Japan National Stadium Design Competition

2012-11-15T12:02:00-05:00

Japan’s Sport Council on Thursday awarded a contract to design and construct a centerpiece, billion-dollar national stadium that forms a key part of Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games to lauded U.K. firm Zaha Hadid Architects.

Previously: New National Stadium Japan Competition Unveils 11 Finalists

New National Stadium Japan Competition Unveils 11 Finalists

2012-10-30T20:18:00-04:00

Eleven finalists have been announced today in the international design competition for the New National Stadium Japan, including design heavy hitters like Zaha Hadid Architects, SANAA, UNStudio, and Toyo Ito. The finalists, announced by the Japan Sport Council (JSC) and jury chair Tadao Ando, were selected from 46 entries to proceed to the second and final competition round. The final winner will be selected on November 7 and officially announced later that month.