Zaha Hadid fights to get Tokyo Olympic stadium design reinstated
Zaha Hadid Architects have responded to Japan’s decision to drop their Tokyo Olympic stadium design by releasing a film detailing the design process for the proposal.
Only last month, London-based Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) appeared to have final government approval for their Tokyo Olympic Stadium design, only to be dropped days later by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. The 20-minute video is a response to that decision and forms a bid by the firm to have its plans reinstated, described as “the only way to achieve value for money in the market”.
Amid speculation about rising costs and criticism from Japanese architects, the film explains the decisions made during the two-year-long design process that led to the current proposal and argues that starting again with a new design will not save the Japanese taxpayer any money, urging the government to reconsider its decision.
“The design should be seen as the only way to achieve value for money in the market,” ZHA state in the film.
Controversial from the start, the estimated cost of the Stadium rose to ¥252bn (US$2bn, €1.8bn, £1.3bn) last year and has seen opposition from many Japanese architects. These included Fumihiko Maki, Toyo Ito and Sou Fujimoto, who argued that it would be too big in relation to its surroundings, which include Kenzo Tange's iconic 1964 Olympic stadium.
ZHA maintain that the budget increases are due to a 25 per cent rise in costs across Tokyo's construction industry over the past two years, stating that it will be impossible to create an equivalent stadium for less money. In response to criticism from the country’s architects, the firm maintains that the building's shape helps to reduce its visual impact on the site, and that its curved roof will reference both Japanese landscape bridges and Tange's iconic stadium.
It also suggests its current design for the 80,000-seat stadium could be adapted to save money by omitting air conditioning for the seating, or by removing a bridge designed to offer the public views across the city skyline.
As things stand, the prime minister has instructed his sports and Olympics ministers to start the process to select a new stadium design immediately, with a cheaper price tag top of the agenda.
Zaha Hadid says design costs not to blame as Japan drops Olympic Stadium plans
Zaha Hadid’s Tokyo Olympic stadium wins final approval
Zaha Hadid's designs for 2022 World Cup stadium in Qatar revealed
UAE’s first Dior Spa debuts in Dubai at Dorchester Collection’s newest hotel, The Lana
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Across Denmark, a charity is turning industrial buildings into centres for street sport and art. As the concept prepares to go global, we speak to the people making it happen
From Nobu Restaurants and Ian Schrager’s latest hotel to Imagination Playgrounds and the set design for The Rocky Horror Show, US architect and designer David Rockwell always keeps it fresh. He tells us the secrets of his creativity