commARCH (Commercial Architecture), May/June 2020
AFTER AFTERLIFE LIFE FOR WHITE ELEPHANTS THROUGH ADAPTIVE REUSE By Griffin Suber Contributing Editor Due to COVID 19 the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan will be postponed until next summer Maybe That is if Japan can untangle a host of logistical problems For example the Athletes Village where twenty three new residential buildings have been constructed already has tenants planning to move in after the games were supposed to conclude Then there are the stadiums themselves Many arent available next summer The new National Stadium completed in November 2019 was built to host the opening and closing ceremonies If the postponed Olympics the only Olympics in history to be postponed and not cancelled doesnt actually happen then the structure will serve as a very nice 68000 seat 14 billion arena football stadium Other venues built specifically for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics include the Oi Hockey Stadium Tokyo Aquatics Center Yumenshima Park Ariake Arena Kasai Rinkai Park and Masashino Forest Sports Park This list does not include existing structures undergoing renovation for the games All told there has been over 25 billion worth of structural preparation for this summers Olympics and companies have paid 31 billion to make these games the most heavily sponsored in history Even when they run smoothly international events such as the Olympics and the World Cup leave white elephants in their wake These crumbling megastructures built with promises of sustained value once their intended events are over inevitably succumb to the realities of steep maintenance costs and inadequate surrounding markets Its a worldwide pattern but Brazil has been notoriously burdened with half a dozen white elephants The Estádio Nacional in the Brazilian capital of Brasília cost 900 million When it was built it was the second most expensive soccer stadium in the world after Wembley Stadium in London The attendance for all teams in the local Brasília league combined wouldnt fill the stadium once The top club in Brasília a fourth division team now only plays in the stadium on special occasions For almost a billion dollars the Estádio Nacional is used as a parking lot for buses and an office space for government officials Rio de Janerios Maracanã Stadium which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2016 Summer Olympics fell into disrepair after the games left town The field turned dry and brown electronic equipment was stolen and the power was shut off due to unpaid bills So what are the solutions Photo credit Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games commARCH 10
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