Zaha Hadid hits back over scrapped stadium for 2020 Tokyo Olympics
- The Guardian
- Jul 29, 2015
- 1 min read
London-based architect’s firm says warnings over selection of building contractors and other issues were not heeded by Japan’s sport council
The architects whose controversial plans for a dramatic £1.3bn Tokyo Olympic stadium were scrapped by the Japanese government over concerns about costs hit back on Tuesday, claiming it was not the design at fault but rapidly rising construction costs.
London-based Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) warned the Japanese prime minister, Shinzō Abe, that ditching their award-winning design team and their knowledge risked the stadium not being completed in time for the 2020 Olympics, or a lower quality stadium which would require expensive upgrading for long-term use.
Ambitious plans for the stadium, which has been likened to a bike helmet and which was scheduled to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, were described by one Japanese architect as “like a turtle waiting for Japan to sink so that it can swim away”.
Abe announced the decision to go back to the drawing board earlier in July after a public backlash over a doubling of the original costs estimate. ZHA was selected from 46 entries to design the new national stadium for Japan, which is expected to host national and international events for the next 50 to 100 years.
In a statement the firm blamed a building boom in Tokyo, limited labour supply, a significant drop in the yen, and the uncompetitive way construction contractors were appointed for the escalating costs.
It said a limited number of contractors were appointed before being invited to submit costs at a time when the cost of building in Tokyo was rocketing.
Source: Theguardian.com
