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Japan may scale down new Oylmpic stadium plan
Construction costs for the envisaged New National Stadium, the main venue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, will reach 300 billion yen (US$3 billion) if the stadium is built according to plan, Olympic minister Hakubun Shimomura said
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onstruction costs for the envisaged New National Stadium, the main venue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, will reach 300 billion yen (US$3 billion) if the stadium is built according to plan, Olympic minister Hakubun Shimomura said.
He then indicated the government would consider scaling down the size of the project, to be built in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, by targeting facilities around the stadium.
Responding to questions by Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Eriko Yamatani at a House of Councillors Budget Committee meeting on Wednesday, Shimomura said, 'As the project is so expensive, it's necessary to examine ways to scale down.'
The Japan Sport Council, which operates the National Stadium, accepted designs for the stadium, expecting a total construction cost of 130 billion yen.
However, after selecting the design by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, the council learned it would cost 300 billion yen.
The streamlined stadium is equipped with a retractable roof and movable seats.
As to cutting expenses, Shimomura said: 'We'll keep the original design. The stadium will fit the criteria of the International Olympic Committee, but the surrounding facilities will be downsized.'
According to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, the downsizing may be accomplished by simplifying some structures, such as passageways connecting the stadium to nearby stations.
New stadium's design under fire
One of the country's leading architects is criticising the main stadium for the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, causing a stir a year after the decision on the basic design was made.
Renowned architect Fumihiko Maki, 85, says the scale is 'too enormous'. Maki and other architects held a symposium on October 11 to question the relevance of the design at the Nippon Seinenkan hall, which is located next to the planned site of the stadium.
The basic design for the New National Stadium was chosen through an international competition held in November 2012, where 62-year-old Hadid beat out 45 other architects. Hadid has been referred to as the 'queen of the unbuilt', as her designs often could not be constructed partly due to gaps between her futuristic designs and underdeveloped building technologies.
Hadid has been active in recent years and one of her latest projects was the London Aquatics Centre used for the London Games.
Tadao Ando, who chaired the design selection committee, said, 'Many [judges] were attracted to the symbolic design as well as its nature of celebration.'
During a lecture in February, Maki said his design for the Toyko Metropolitan Gymnasium, which was completed in 1990, took into account the surrounding environment so as not to overwhelm passers-by. He said the New National Stadium will convey a sense of pressure, as the building will be built under largely relaxed height limits.
At the symposium and in an article in a magazine published by the Japan Institute of Architects, Maki criticised the competition as 'crude', as it was 'limited to a handful of architects', and conducted without sufficient consideration for the surrounding landscape and history of the Jingu Gaien area.
An official of the Japan Sport Council, which will oversee the building of the stadium, said: 'The competition was just for the basic design. We agreed [with Hadid] to modify the design to fit in with the area.'
At the symposium, a proposal was made to submit a request to the council and relevant ministries and agencies to review the scale of the stadium and make public information related to the competition.
