New designs for the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo

After a wave of protests against Zaha Hadid's stadium for the 2020 Summer Olympics, the Japanese government established the position of Minister of Olympics, who completely halted the project this July and in September announced an additional anonymous competition that required collaboration with structural engineers. Although the judges of the original two-round competition praised the dynamic and futuristic appearance of Zaha Hadid's stadium back in 2012, these same characteristics were later criticized in the project, attributed to an unreasonable budget increase from the original 24 billion to 60 billion yen. The new stadium will have a reduced seating capacity (from 80,000 to 68,000), a height limit set at 50 meters, and a budget limited to 34 billion yen. One of the many assessed aspects was also the "Japanese-ness" of the competition design. Ultimately, the proposals of two Tokyo architects, Kengo Kuma and Toyo Ito, who were also vocal opponents of the original design by Zaha Hadid, significantly exceeding the surrounding development, made it to the finals.
Before the Christmas holidays, Kengo Kuma was commissioned with the new national stadium, collaborating with the construction firm Taisei Corp. and the design office Azusa Sekkei. The winning design is noticeably less sensational, yet has already earned the nickname "hamburger." The light translucent roofing and the use of wooden constructions reflect Japanese building traditions. Additionally, the anticipated financial costs are 4 billion lower than the competition limit. Construction is set to begin in December next year, and the stadium should be completed more than half a year before the start of the Olympic Games in November 2019, when the international rugby championship is to be held there.

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