UPDATE: on september 1st, 2015, the tokyo national stadium’s new competition was announced with a much shorter design and construction schedule. upon commencement of the contest, it was revealed that zaha hadid architects would re-enter alongside japanese firm nikken sekkei in trying to win back the project. the two practices have been working together on the scheme since 2013.
‘we believe the best way to respond to the new brief is to maximize the use of the expertise and experience gained by the design team over the past two years’, commented nikken sekkei. ‘our firm is certain that retaining the team of design supervisor and designers will deliver the best national stadium, and we have invited zaha hadid architects to join the design team. applying this knowledge and experience of the project, this team can further develop the design to the new brief as a cost-effective proposal to realize the world’s best national stadium.‘
— – —
last month, japan’s prime minister announced that controversial plans for the country’s new national stadium in tokyo had been dropped — a move welcomed by a number of japanese architects including toyo ito. in response, zaha hadid’s studio (ZHA) issued a statement defending itself against reported cost increases, which they believed had been incorrectly attributed to them.
now, ZHA has released a video presentation detailing their design for the new national stadium which has been in development for two years. the practice say that they welcome a new contractor bidding process for the stadium to ‘reduce costs and ensure value for money in terms of quality, durability and long-term sustainability’. ZHA also believe that their stadium design can still be completed in time for the the tokyo 2020 olympic and paralympic games.
‘it was a very serious team of people who worked on this project for two or three years, so it is an enormous investment’, explains zaha hadid. ‘I think it is a very important project as it has a life beyond the olympics.’
watch the presentation video in full below.
new national stadium video presentation by zaha hadid architects
‘our stadium design has been two years in the making, and it is ready to start on site this year,’ state zaha hadid architects. ‘it can be ready for the rugby world cup of 2019, and the test events before the summer olympics of tokyo 2020.
‘to start the design from scratch is an unnecessary risk, which we think the government should reconsider if its aim is to achieve a lower price than ¥250 billion. we believe the answer is to introduce more competition between the contractors, but to not lose the benefits of the design.
‘further cost savings can be considered, such as omitting air conditioning for the seating or omitting the skybridge. but, the stadium design is compact and efficient, it cannot be approved upon unless the fundamental criteria of seating capacity is altered or a more competitive bidding situation is created to lower the price‘, continue ZHA.
an aerial view of the project with tokyo’s center in the background
all images © zaha hadid architects
coherent circulation routes are designed to ensure easy access to the stadium
the inclined elevation of the stadium comes down as low as 24 meters
the arena walls reach a maximum height of 44 meters
the design team claim their scheme can still be constructed in time for the 2020 olympic games
an elevated walkway called the ‘skybridge’ encircles the design
views are presented across the japanese capital
the internal layout of the stadium has been configured for a range of sporting uses
the project’s distinctive roof structure illuminated from within
NIKKEN SEKKEI (10)
Jul 23, 2020
Jun 18, 2020
Nov 16, 2018
Feb 15, 2018
Apr 23, 2016STADIUM ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN (173)
Oct 01, 2020
Aug 26, 2020
Aug 20, 2020
Aug 05, 2020 Jul 23, 2020ZAHA HADID (331)
Jan 11, 2021
Jan 05, 2021
Dec 15, 2020
Dec 03, 2020
Nov 30, 2020PRODUCT LIBRARY
Jan 25, 2021
Jan 25, 2021
Jan 25, 2021
Jan 24, 2021
The Japanese government & critics may wish to recal the history of the 1971 wining scheme for Beaubourg, Paris; the Centre Pompidou. Biggest battles were fought over context & cost. Fortunately for the Parisians, the French, the art & architectural lovers of the world, the vision & will of the government prevailed. What a thoroughly & precisely designed stadium; we hope that Japan would reconsider & bring back this elegant, efficient & forward looking scheme.
I never had a problem with this design. In fact after watching this film, I’m even more saddened that the Japanese government decided to scrap this design, even after they approved it.
Better than the previous design, but it still doesn’t deal with a key argument – that it doesn’t fit with the context of the surrounding landscape-a problem that Hadid seems to encounter with most of the firm’s designs
Wow, thanks. I actually watched that whole thing. Best of luck to Zaha and crew. Stunning bit of work.
the most popular views that have been shown of this design are seen from the top. The stadium that tokyoites will have to live with for, say, 50 years, is seen from the ground. Such a view and concern for the surrounding areas should be integrated into the design, no matter what the birdview might look like.