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Posted

Also I thought this was interesting. Some people are calling this 森の古墳 or Mori's Tomb, referring to how Mori, the CEO or whatever of TOCOG is setting up this huge stadium that will serve almost as a legacy after he dies, similar to how olden times Emperors would create large and elaborate 古墳 or tombs that were often mound shaped...

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  • Like 1
Posted

Technically, none of the 2012 venues were in London the city, as that only refers to the 'square mile' of finance & banking. London as we generally know it is really the equivalent of a county, Greater London. The Olympic park was in the town of Stratford, in the borough of Newham, in the 'county' of Greater London. Even Parliament is actually in the city of Westminster if you want to be technical. So if Yokohama is in Tokyo's metro area, then it shouldn't be ineligible really. .

Posted

There's some IOC rule that requires the OC or main stadium or whatever must be in the host city as advertised. It would have to be Yokohama 2020 for that to work out.

Adler 2014. That is all

Somehow I doubt that's at play here. If Tokyo wanted to use a stadium that's not in Tokyo proper, somehow I doubt the IOC would have had a problem with it since the alternatives to Yokohama 2020 were Istanbul 2020 and Madrid 2020. No thank you

Posted

The New National Stadium was going to be renovated for the 2019 RWC anyway, so I guess since that had been an objective since they were awarded the WC in 2010 (I think) they put it into their bid that started as an Applicant the next year. The reason they're not switching now is that the old stadium is gone so they have to put something there.

Posted

Architect Ando fends off criticism over Olympic stadium costs

Renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando said Thursday he does not know why the construction costs for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics stadium have become so high after he chose the design of the main stadium as chairman of the design competition committee.
"I myself want to ask why (the cost) cannot be lowered," he said at a packed press conference, referring to the surge in the building costs for the new National Stadium to 252 billion yen ($2 billion) from an initially estimated 162.5 billion yen.
The 73-year-old architect, making his first public appearance since criticism over the soaring costs began to gather momentum, dismissed any suggestion of responsibility in the matter.
"I was asked to oversee only the selection of the design idea," he said. "I do understand the rise in construction costs due to the consumption tax hike and price increases, but I don't know...the details of other factors that led to the sharp increase," he said. Japan raised the sales tax rate to 8 percent from 5 percent in April last year.
The current futuristic design, conceived by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, features two gigantic streamlined arches over the stadium. But given the construction costs associated with its unique design and rising material costs, the total cost of the stadium has swollen, drawing criticism not only from opposition lawmakers but also some in the ruling camp and sporting world.
The futuristic design was selected from among 46 applicants at an international competition in November 2012, when Tokyo had yet to win the right to host the Olympics in 2020.
"The design was truly radical and represents the vibrancy which sport is all about," Ando said at that time. "Its impact is what won it."
Given the criticism over the soaring costs, the Japanese government has begun considering revising its contentious plan for the construction of the stadium, possibly altering the design or extending the period of construction, according to government sources.

July 16,2015

News source:The Mainichi

Link to this article:http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150716p2g00m0dm072000c.html

Posted

Ando, at 73, is already senile. If he cannot understand the correlation between the design he chose and the technology, apparently not yet available, to be applied to this gigantic project, then he isn't/wasn't much of an architect to begin with. The latest news release still doesn't indicate any forward progress on the matter.

Posted

Ando, at 73, is already senile. If he cannot understand the correlation between the design he chose and the technology, apparently not yet available, to be applied to this gigantic project, then he isn't/wasn't much of an architect to begin with. The latest news release still doesn't indicate any forward progress on the matter.

Unfortunately modern architects are not expected to understand engineering. They basically draw up something crazy and then hand it to a structural engineer and tell them to make it work. It's even worse when they hire a starchitect instead of a reliable firm.

Posted

Technically, none of the 2012 venues were in London the city, as that only refers to the 'square mile' of finance & banking. London as we generally know it is really the equivalent of a county, Greater London. The Olympic park was in the town of Stratford, in the borough of Newham, in the 'county' of Greater London. Even Parliament is actually in the city of Westminster if you want to be technical. So if Yokohama is in Tokyo's metro area, then it shouldn't be ineligible really. .

But the bulk of 2012 events were within the Mayoralty of London, governed from City Hall.

Adler 2014. That is all

And Adler, plus indeed Krasnaya Polyana, is, and has been for a long time, within the bounds of the City of Sochi (of which the town of Sochi is merely the administrative centre).

Posted

Why can't they just use the Yokohama stadium? 70odd thousand seats, so plenty big enough, has hosted a World Cup final so the surrounding facilities like hospitality etc. must be there.

Again, because it's TOO FAR. The stadium is 25 miles from Tokyo - four times the distance from "the City of London" to Stratford.

Tokyo using Yokohama would've been like London setting up Olympic Park shop in St. Albans or Rochester. Very far-flung from the rest of the action back towards the city. So the London comparison is not comparable to Tokyo whatsoever.

But the bulk of 2012 events were within the Mayoralty of London, governed from City Hall.

Precisely.

  • Like 1
Posted

If they don't resolve the issue with their new stadium, they may not have much of a choice and have to go with Yokohama.

And as far as distances of stadiums, If Gillette stadium were to be used for the OC/CC for Boston, that is a distance of about 30 miles from the center, and Foxboro IS NOT a part of Boston either, it's its own city.

Posted

But Gillette isn't going to be used. It's been discussed before why it's not an appropriate main venue. There's not really that much infrastructure around the stadium to start with.

I'm sure Yokohama is not even on the the IOC's radar. They're most likely on top of to get the national stadium on plan. Esprcially since Tokyo 2020 has already deviated some from the original concept. Going to Yokohama would totally mean to reconfigure basically everything, which at this point, would be a pain & something that the IOC im sure wouldn't want, (or anyone else FTM) anyway.

Posted

Japan won't have new National Stadium ready for 2019 Rugby World Cup

Japan's new National Stadium has been ditched as the main venue for the 2019 Rugby World Cup because its proposed design will be scrapped to cut costs and it won't be ready in time, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday.
The stadium, which is also set to be the centrepiece for the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo, had been scheduled to hold both the opening match and the final of the first rugby World Cup ever held in Asia.
Nothing definite was said about where the events would be held instead, but media reports said the final could be held at Yokohama's International Stadium, which hosted the 2002 soccer World Cup final between Brazil and Germany.

July 17,2015 Reuters

Link to this article:http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/17/olympics-japan-rugby-idUST9N0ZV03F20150717

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Posted

Wow. I'm a bit surprised Tokyo is making such a mess of this. At least dropping the rwc from this venue gives them a bit of extra time (though not a lot as there will need to be a test event)

  • Like 1
Posted

Wow. I'm a bit surprised Tokyo is making such a mess of this. At least dropping the rwc from this venue gives them a bit of extra time (though not a lot as there will need to be a test event)

Yes and that test event is the rugby world cup in September of 2019, a year before the olympics. So they have little to no time to screw around with this stadium.

Posted

Is it now just a matter of time before they dump Hadid's design completely & get some local architect to design something that can be built quickly (perhaps even something temporary)?

Posted

Is it now just a matter of time before they dump Hadid's design completely & get some local architect to design something that can be built quickly (perhaps even something temporary)?

Abe pulls plug on costly Olympic stadium plan

To reduce the estimated construction cost of ¥252 billion and ease growing criticism, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday that the new National Stadium to be built for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be redesigned from scratch.
This means Japan will renege on its promise to use the venue for the 2019 Rugby World Cup because the new stadium won’t be built in time, Abe said.
“I’ve decided to send the current plan for the new National Stadium . . . back to the drawing board,” he told reporters. “I made the decision today because I’m firmly convinced that (a new stadium) will be completed by the opening of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
Abe apparently feared a backlash from angry voters. The estimated construction cost for the extravagant stadium was originally ¥130 billion, but then it suddenly soared to ¥252 billion.
The revised price, which came without any public explanation, is believed to have negatively affected public approval ratings for the Abe Cabinet in recent polls.
Later in the day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the government will finish drawing up a new plan for the stadium in fall, and it will include a cap on the total construction cost.
Kyodo News reported that the government will set a target below ¥200 billion. But a high-ranking official later said the government does not yet have a specific target.
Suga said the government will hold an international competition that combines the design and the construction, which he claimed will shorten the total process and make sure the stadium is ready for opening of the Olympics.
The design for the now-rejected design by British-based architect Zaha Hadid, featuring two gigantic keel arches supporting the roof, was chosen in 2012 through an international competition.
Pulling the plug now may damage Japan’s international reputation and put a question mark on its ability to manage numerous other Olympic-related projects.
“It is true that (Hadid’s design) was a key part of our campaign to attract the Olympic Games to Tokyo,” Suga told a news conference earlier Friday.
During a presentation at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in September 2013, Abe himself proudly said in English, “I can also say that, from a new stadium that will look like no other, to confirmed financing, Tokyo 2020 will offer guaranteed delivery.”
Abe made the announcement Friday after meeting with Yoshiro Mori, president of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in the prime minister’s office.
Mori had promised to World Rugby, the international governing body of rugby unions, that Japan would build an entirely new stadium to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Mori was believed reluctant to give up the plan to host the rugby championship in the new National Stadium, but according to Abe, he endorsed the decision to scrap the Hadid design.
A senior official close to Abe had said earlier that he believes the stadium issue was having an even bigger impact on his approval ratings than the controversial security bills, which were passed by the Lower House on Thursday.
According to the latest poll by Jiji, conducted between July 10 and 13, the approval rate of the Abe Cabinet fell to an all-time low of 40.1 percent, down 5.7 percentage points from the previous month, while the disapproval rate surged to a new high of 39.5 percent, up 5.5 percentage points.
Abe, who has no powerful rivals within the Liberal Democratic Party, is expected to be smoothly re-elected as party president in an election scheduled to be held around Sept. 20.
Still, the recently declining approval rates in media polls could significantly weaken his administration, which has consistently boasted high public approval and looked set to remain in power for a long time.

July 17,2015

News source:The Japan Times

Link to this article:http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/07/17/national/abe-pulls-plug-costly-olympic-stadium-plan/#.Vajqt_ntmkp

Posted

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/17/us-olympics-japan-stadium-idUSKCN0PR09F20150717

It's not a surprise. Abe has now stated they are starting from scratch again. I know it looks like a mess, and it is, but this is really the best option for them. With 81% disapproval and disapproval from ruling and opposition, it was inevitable that this would happen.

Having the new stadium for RWC was always Mori's dream even before he got involved with TOCOG, so I think it's reasonable to abandon plans to have it ready by then. I don't know much about rugby culture in Japan, but would the stadium have had pulled 80,000 for the matches anyway? Maybe...

Posted

I think the best route for them now would be to forego much architectural grandiosity and build a National Stadium like the Stade de France with retractable seating so that future Rugby/football events aren't viewed over a track. Simplicity and flexibility for different events should be core focus of the design-thinking now they've not got much time.

Personally I think it's a shame that the Hadid stadium won't be realised, but they need to make the best of an embarrasing situation now.

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