ZCZC
BSP-08
JPN-OLY-TOKYO-2020-JAPAN-ARCHITECTURE
Tokyo’s main Olympic stadium ready to fight heat
TOKYO, Nov 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Construction of the $1.4 billion main Tokyo
Olympic venue has officially completed, constructors said on Saturday, and is
set to fight excessive heat with a nature-inspired design.
Japan’s summer heat is a major concern for Tokyo 2020 officials, with
doctors warning the Games could see deadly medical emergencies.
The five-story stadium, designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo
Kuma, will seat 60,000 fans and nods to traditional techniques through the
prominent use of wood.
Around 2,000 cubic metres of cedar wood were brought in from all of
Japan’s 47 prefectures, with an emphasis on wood from the northern Tohoku
region hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
The use of layered wooden canopies is also a reference to the 1,300-year-
old five-story pagoda at Horyuji temple in western Nara prefecture, the
oldest wooden building in the world.
“Today, we were able to welcome the completion of the new national
stadium,” Japan Sport Council (JSC) in charge of the project said in a press
release.
“The new history will begin,” it said.
Built at a cost of 157 billion yen the venue features the “Grand Eaves of
the Wind,” a top roof layer designed to let in wind and cool down the
temperature inside the stadium.
A total of 185 large fans have also been set up and cooling mist emitters
are installed at eight locations.
Athletes, volunteers and spectators face the sweltering Tokyo summer where
the mercury can easily reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
The main stadium — used for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well
as athletics and some football matches — has been built in the centre of
Tokyo on the site of the 1964 stadium.
It has not been completely smooth sailing, as the original design, by
Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, was jettisoned in July 2015 amid public
outrage over its $2 billion price tag — which would have made it the world’s
most expensive stadium.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1325 hrs