Last week, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that the country was scrapping its plans for Tokyo's Olympic Stadium and that a different project would be started from scratch.
According to The Japan Times, the new plans have been set in motion. Construction on the stadium that will serve as the hub of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will begin in January or February, and a first draft of the stadium's functions, along with a cost projection report, will be completed by the fall. A new design and builder will be selected as well.
Hakubun Shimomura, Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, said that a third-party will look into how construction costs for the previous stadium plan grew from 130 billion yen ($1.05 billion) to more than 252 billion yen (around $2 billion).
The original stadium, an 80,000-seat retractable roof venue designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, was an ambitious project that eventually had a number of flaws. Along with the rising costs and concerns about construction delays, critics said that the stadium interfered with local green space, put a financial burden on future generations, and was unattractive aesthetically.
Pritzker laureates Toyo Ito and Fumihiko Maki started an online petition that urged the country to consider upgrading the existing Meiji Jingo Gaien Stadium instead of displacing citizens who lived around the proposed Olympic Stadium.
Shimomura said that the plan is for the new stadium to open in the spring of 2020, prior to the Olympics.
Related Stories
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 27, 2023
New 20,000-seat soccer stadium will anchor neighborhood development in Indianapolis
A new 20,000-seat soccer stadium for United Soccer League’s Indy Eleven will be the centerpiece of a major neighborhood development in Indianapolis. The development will transform the southwest quadrant of downtown Indianapolis by adding more than 600 apartments, 205,000 sf of office space, 197,000 sf for retail space and restaurants, parking garages, a hotel, and public plazas with green space.
Arenas | Feb 23, 2023
Using data to design the sports venue of the future
Former video game developer Abe Stein and HOK's Bill Johnson discuss how to use data to design stadiums and arenas that keep fans engaged and eager to return.
Arenas | Feb 14, 2023
A new communications platform aims to help sports and entertainment venues operate greener
GOAL (for Green Operations and Advanced Leadership) will give operators ways to gauge their sustainability journeys.
Giants 400 | Feb 9, 2023
New Giants 400 download: Get the complete at-a-glance 2022 Giants 400 rankings in Excel
See how your architecture, engineering, or construction firm stacks up against the nation's AEC Giants. For more than 45 years, the editors of Building Design+Construction have surveyed the largest AEC firms in the U.S./Canada to create the annual Giants 400 report. This year, a record 519 firms participated in the Giants 400 report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Steel Buildings | Feb 3, 2023
Top 10 structural steel building projects for 2023
A Mies van der Rohe-designed art and architecture school at Indiana University and Morphosis Architects' Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa, Calif., are among 10 projects to win IDEAS² Awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 1, 2023
University of Houston opens 'game changer' wellness center at downtown campus
The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) recently opened its new Wellness & Success Center (WSC). The $39 million, 75,000 sf facility greatly improves the quality of the school’s exercise programs and areas dedicated to them. It also establishes a dynamic core and recognizable landmark for fostering and nurturing an on-campus community, according to a news release from SmithGroup, which designed the building along with HarrisonKornberg Architects.
University Buildings | Jan 30, 2023
How wellness is reshaping college recreation centers
Moody Nolan, a specialist in the design of college recreation centers, has participated in the evolution toward wellness on college campuses.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jan 26, 2023
Miami’s motorsport ‘country club’ to build sleek events center
Designed by renowned Italian design firm Pininfarina and with Revuelta as architect, The Event Campus at The Concours Club will be the first and only motorsport-based event campus located within minutes of a major metro area.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jan 24, 2023
Nashville boasts the largest soccer-specific stadium in the U.S. and Canada
At 30,105 seats and 530,000 sf, GEODIS Park, which opened in 2022, is the largest soccer-specific stadium in the U.S. and Canada. Created by design firms Populous and HASTINGS in collaboration with the Metro Nashville Sports Authority, GEODIS Park serves as the home of the Nashville Soccer Club as well as a venue for performances and events.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 15, 2022
Community centers reinforce a town or city’s sense of place
The intersection of a community with its natural surroundings is one key to a successful design of community centers, according to a new 24-page paper titled “Creating a Wellness Culture,” about the benefits of this building type, cowritten by HMC Architects’ Civic Practice Leader Kyle Peterson, and Director of Design James Krueger, who used three of their firm’s recent projects to buttress their thesis.
