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© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Tokyo Olympic stadium designer strikes back at critics
By KEN MORITSUGU TOKYO©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
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Kobe White Bar Owner
Makes little difference sure it'll still end up being hugely over budget. Too many old men waiting for big brown envelopes.
papigiulio
Even half would've been waaaaaaay too expensive. As another user said before, they shouldve just renovated the old stadium and keep some parts of it as a remembrance of the previous olympic games or something.
kawabegawa198
The yakuza control Japan, always have, always will. Until you change that (which will never happen) stuff like this will continue to happen.
sighclops
It's both naive & extremely unjust to be pointing the blame at ZH Architects, as we all know what really caused the "spiraling price tag". This is the first snowflake on a very, very deep-reaching iceberg.
sanjigen
So they blame two-thirds to the unusual design but in reality was about to become pure profit for these construction companies which I'm sure would have been used to fund certain unusual payments.
nath
So, these construction companies were selected before the design was. How the heck can you put in an estimate, if you do not even know what you are going to build?
toshiko
overchan
What did zaha hadid expected with construction prices in Japan??? Its not slave labor or chinese labor.
nath
Pricing and costs weren't Hadid's responsibility.
overchan
Strangerland. Ok. Now that I've readed. Being an architect myself with a construction company. When Saha hadid tried to win the project she was given guidelines for designing the stadium and a price-cap. She didn't oversee that the costs of construction in Japan are too high. Shes responsible. For 67% of the price surge. The rest 33% was dure inflation.
nath
Link please.
toshiko
Hadid did not try to do anything to win project. Her reading and speaking of Japanese can not be as good as Japanese competing architect firms. Hadid won on her peoposal with her representation of Mihon Sekkeis.
overchan
Architects are responsible of managing the cost of buildings they design. Why didnt she oversee the cost of 500mts long arc. She does that with all her projects. Pretty crappy designs using the so called Brutalism. Im glad that her design is OVER. Didnt she read about the JOC and their budget. She only wanted to win the project
toshiko
It seems that Hadid gave estimation of construction cost when done and this estimation is now center of lawsuit including defamation, that ministry of Sport and ministry of Olympic have not been denying.
wontond
Not surprisingly the Japan Sport Council cannot place sole responsibility on the two construction companies, or else how could they possible accept their bids on the new project. This whole situation stinks, and I don't think it's going to get much better. I was excited for Tokyo to host the games, but not if it's going to be run like this.
nath
Link please.
toshiko
1 Abe should close Ministry of Olympic
2 make black list book that list business govt prohibiy do business. ie Taisei Takenaka TEPCO
takenaka T
for example
GW
Nice just like WWII Japan is looking to shift the blame!
Christopher Glen
Does that mean that Tokyo's Olympic bid - which was awarded based on the original design - will now be awarded to Istanbul instead? After all, there are far more important things that tax-payers' money could be spent on
toshiko
In this kind of large scale project, no one organization is awarded to have responsibility of entire project. Step by step. The fact two construction companies were already selected sound fishy. Do you know what kind of construction in Japan they have been doing since Meiji Ishin> Maybe since 1945?
Kobe White Bar Owner
@ overchan
"Architects are responsible of managing the cost of buildings they design."
Sorry but your wrong that is the quantity surveyor job. Who would be on the ground in Japan an more than likely a Japanese national.
toshiko
Hadid presented the best "Kako no Sekkei no Mihon" . I believe.
pronuke1
@Strangerland overchan doesn't need to provide you a link. You need to find a book about architect design youself. In this case, obviously it's Z Hadid‘s fault to hide the real cost to win.
toshiko
This lawsuit indicates that Hadid presented 2 cost estimations. 1 as of the time Hadid received contract and 2 years after it presented Kihon Sekkei and Jisshi Sekkei. The price differed and it lost contract that included clauses of if it lost the contract. It is not ABC of architect design book stage. Need to know legal understanding of business contract, too. Pretty soon, unless Abe acts quickly, court procedure and all litigants will appear in the court. How much to whom Taisei and Takenaka paid to have contracts before Jisshi Sekkei is prevailed.