Architecture

Carrying the torch

Ed Lambert on Tokyo’s Olympic architecture

On March 20, the Olympic Flame arrived in Japan, transported by a special aircraft emblazoned with words Tokyo 2020 Go, under a cloud of apprehension. The stage was set – construction had finished ahead of schedule – when the torch arrived from Greece. The week-long ceremony began when the torch was lit in front of the ruins of the Temple of Hera in Ancient Olympia on March 12 and handed over to Tokyo at a ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. Yet, as Covid-19 swept across the globe, it seemed increasingly unlikely the Games would go ahead. Four days later, the Olympics would being postponed until July 2021.

“In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the World Health Organization today, the IOC president and the prime minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community,” a statement read. “The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present. Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.”

Tokyo will feel like it has been here before. The Japanese capital was named as host city for the Summer Olympics in 1940, becoming the first non-Western city given the honour, while Sapporo, in Hokkaido, was due to host the Winter Games that same year. However, due to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, both games were moved to Helsinki, Finland, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, respectively, but were then cancelled because of World War Two. The 1944 Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy and the Summer Games in London were also postponed. London only had to wait until 1948, while Helsinki and Cortina d’Ampezzo hosted in 1952 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen had already held the games in 1936), but Tokyo and Sapporo were forced to wait a long time: until 1964 and 1972, respectively.

This year, however, is the first time the Summer Olympic Games have been postponed rather than cancelled as they were in 1916, 1940 and 1944.

When Covid-19 started spreading across the world, Tokyo had already completed preparations, in part due to the infrastructure that remained from 1964. A total of 43 venues – eight new permanent venues, 25 existing facilities and ten temporary venues – will be used at the Games. Among those reused and updated from 1964 are the Yoyogi National Stadium, constructed to stage the aquatics and basketball competitions for the Tokyo 1964 Games, and the iconic Nippon Budokan, known as the spiritual home of Japanese martial arts. It was here, at the 1964 Games, that judo made its debut as an Olympic sport. The New Olympic Stadium, built on the site of the 1964 stadium, was designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma after an initial proposal by Zaha Hadid Architects was eventually abandoned as costs spiralled out of control. Its façade consists of overlapping, multilayered eaves made of wood gathered from each of Japan’s 47 prefectures, and more than 47,000 trees were planted within the stadium’s precinct. Kengo, best known for designing the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum (2005), V&A Dundee, Scotland (2018) and Nezu Museum, Minato, Tokyo (2009), said he wanted a strong emphasis on environmental awareness, with the large green space close by known as the Outer Garden of Meiji Jingu Shrine, creating a “living tree”.

New venues include the Yumenoshima Park Archery Field, Sea Forest Waterway, Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre, Oi Hockey Stadium and the Ariake Arena, all of which have been completed. The Musashino Forest Sports Plaza, designed by Nihon Sekkei, will host the badminton, fencing competitions and wheelchair basketball games at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. The venue was renovated after hosting the Japan Open Tennis Championships in October 2018. Among the most striking buildings is the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, which has seating capacity for 15,000 people. A moveable wall means the centre can be converted into two 25m pools after the Games end.

“We are so looking forward to seeing athletes from all over the world marching into the new stadium at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on 24 July 2020 and the Paralympic Games on 25 August 2020, when the eyes of the world will be on this iconic symbol of the Tokyo 2020 Games,” said Tokyo 2020 CEO Muto Toshiro. “We believe the stadium will become an irreplaceable legacy – a place that will allow people to spend healthy and fulfilling days enjoying sport for another 50 years or even longer. With this in mind, we will continue our preparations for hosting the best Games ever.”

The world in one place: looking ahead to Dubai Expo in 2021

By Tahlia Begum

From the telephone (Philadelphia, 1876) to the commercial broadcast television (New York, 1939), for more than 150 years World Expos have been a place where humanity has debuted the latest technologies, shared ideas and made great leaps forward. For many, they are among the most important gatherings on the planet. From the helter skelter to touchscreens, World Expos are milestone markers of humanity’s greatest achievements.

The first World Exhibition was in London (the Great Exhibition) in 1851, and they have been held at least once every five years ever since. The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 Paris exhibition, while a special event was held in 1939 specifically for the Golden Gate Bridge.

The next iteration of the World Exhibition will be Dubai’s Expo 2020 and, like much in a city that boasts the world’s tallest building and the world’s fastest police car, it promises to be a big deal. Despite being pushed back to October 2021, the Expo will feature dozens of pavilions created by some of the world’s most renowned architects, highlighting what their countries have to offer. Being Dubai, there will be some records smashed (the Expo will feature the world’s biggest 360-degree projection surface on the Al Wasl Plaza steel dome) and some sights that are simply incredible, such as the Opportunity Pavilion, made from all-natural materials including 2,500 tonnes of stone and 111km of rope. There will also be a rotating observation tower and contemporary arts installations showcasing a huge array of talent.

Each country’s pavilion will sit within one of three districts – opportunity, mobility and sustainability, which are the key themes of the Expo.

One of the most eye-catching pavilions is Finland’s, which sits in the mobility district. According to its designers, JKMM, the pavilion is designed around a theme of ‘sharing future happiness’ and inspired by Finnish nature, design and innovation. Named Lumi, which means Snow Cape in Finnish, the pavilion resembles a large white tent, inspired by a traditional beit al-shaar. It’s intended to tell the story of Finland’s first snow of the year, which usually falls in autumn.

In a statement, JKMM said of the pavilion’s sustainable approach: “Finland was the first country to create a road map to a circular economy

and it has stayed true to these principles in the design and construction of Snow Cape. Sustainability has been a guiding theme throughout the design and construction process. With the exception of a limited number of Finnish materials being imported, Snow Cape is being built almost entirely using material from the local market, thereby reducing the environmental burden caused by unnecessary logistics and transportation.”

Another eye-catching structure at the Dubai Expo is the Morocco Pavilion. Designed by Oualalou + Choi, the adobe-brick building is inspired by the “ancestral construction techniques commonly found throughout Moroccan villages”, according to The Architects Newspaper.

“The firm’s design attempts to recreate the experience of the country, rather than its iconic aesthetics, by tying the pavilion’s galleries together with a continuous ramp that recalls the narrow and dynamic streets of the Moroccan medinas.”

Brazil’s pavilion, designed by JPG.ARQ, MMBB and Ben-Avid, has a water feature that recalls the Amazon basin. Those walking through the pavilion will be taken in by the sights, sounds and smells of the Brazilian riverside. It will also be a great place to cool off.

France’s pavilion, which sits in the mobility area, explores the theme of light as an enabler of progress. Designed by Atelier du Prado Architectes and Celnikier & Grabli, the pavilion will be created from recycled materials, while more than 80 per cent of the energy used by the pavilion – in part creating dazzling daily light shows – will be generated by the pavilion itself.

Regardless of which pavilions you choose to visit at Dubai Expo 2020, be sure to attend. It looks certain to be one of the biggest events of 2021.