Tuesday, December 15, 2015.
New Olympic stadium
On Tuesday, December 15, 2015 The Japan Times English-language newspaper published two artists' conceptions of the new 2020 Olympic Stadium. The original stadium design, by British architect Zaha Hadid, was abandoned at a late date because of ballooning cost projections. Construction was supposed to begin in October after the demolition of the old 1964 Olympic Stadium was finished. So they are already behind schedule and there is no way the stadium can be ready for the 2019 Rugby World Cup scheduled for Tokyo, which was supposed to be an Olympic dry run for the facility and the city.
Are they serious about these new designs? Boring. Dull. Uninspiring. Artless. Merely functional. Equally sore on the eyes. They don’t seem to match or rise to Japan’s architectural reputation. They both look like they came from a grab-bag of ready-made stadium designs - Stadiums by Ikea.
Stadiums by Ikea
It’s not that I want the Hadid design reinstated. I don’t want any stadium design. I don’t want an Olympic stadium. I don’t want an Olympics. Each sport’s World Championship event is enough.