New Olympics stadium design

Japan has selected a new design for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics main stadium, following the scrapping of the initial design by the acclaimed British architect, Zaha Hadid.

The 1.4 billion GBP plan that had been set by Zaha found itself to be in the middle of several controversies since the announcement. Following the protests on the cost and design of the project, the government had been prompted to scrap the plan last July.

The winning proposal was submitted by a joint venture that comprised noted Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, construction company Taisei, and construction support from Azusa Sekkei. The design has been based on traditional Japanese architecture and features a roof made of wood and steel. Additionally, the design has kept the height of the stadium less than 50 metres in order to make it fit into the landscape.

The new plan for the National Stadium is expected to cost 832 million GBP. The Japanese Sport Council, which will oversee the construction, will be finalising the contract with the winning party. Construction of the main stadium is expected to start as early as December 2016 and be completed by November 2019. The stadium will reportedly provide a total of 68,000 seats.