Two groups competing for the lucrative contract to build the new stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have disclosed their design proposals that blend in better with the greenery-rich Yoyogi area. The Japan Sports Council released the designs on Monday and said the winner will be chosen this month. It did not identify which companies have proposed which designs.
The two designs are more understated than the original plan by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, which was scrapped due to controversy over its cost and scale. Work on the 158 billion yen ($1.3 billion) stadium intended to accommodate up to 80,000 people was delayed by the difficulties over its design, which proved a major embarrassment for local Olympics organizers.
“We will work to ensure a stadium that will be loved by all,” Kazumi Daito, president of the Sports Council, said in announcing the plans, which he said would put “athletes first” and also emphasize accessibility for the disabled, elderly and children. The two new designs, which are apparently Japanese in origin, are simply called A and B. But the companies involved remain a secret.
Design “A” has a relatively flat roof and fits in with surrounding greenery, with shrubbery along its outer concourses. The combined steel and wood structure seems to echo traditional temple designs, and stands only 50 meters (164 feet) tall, with a center sports ground sunk below the surface. Its construction cost is listed at a total of 153 billion yen ($1.26 billion).
The 54.3-meter-tall (178 feet) Design “B” is more ethereal, with outer glass walls that blend with the sky and are meant to reflect the traditional Asian concepts of the Five Elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. It would cost 153.7 billion yen ($1.26 billion).
“Both designs use wood in their construction materials, and I think that’s an interesting aspect” said architect and critic Takashi Moriyama. Moriyama noted both designs take into account the natural environment of their surroundings, which are protected by the urban development law, but in different ways. Both plans call for construction to be done, apart from landscaping and surrounding work, by Nov. 30, 2019. Source by Japan Sports Council via AP.