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© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.New Olympic stadium design proposals unveiled
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choiwaruoyaji
Compare these boring designs to Beijing's fascinating and iconic "Bird's Nest Stadium"...
It just seems to me to illustrate how staid, boring and unimaginative Japan has become in comparison to other Asian countries.
nath
Looks just like the one they demolished.
Moonraker
Yeah, like that ever mattered in building design in Japan before. Funny how that suddenly became a criterion for this stadium.
zones2surf
Setting aside the design for a minute, how is it that two competing bids can come in at JPY 153 billion and JPY 153.7 billion respectively?! That is a differential of less than 0.5%!! Amazing!! For two seemingly different designs.
Funny how the numbers are so close. But, of course, there is no dango going on at all. Not at all.
Mlodinow
Now watch the build for either of these simpler designs go 40% over budget...
nath
It just seems to me to illustrate how staid, boring and unimaginative Japan has become in comparison to other Asian countries.~
Good call. I shudder to think what food will be on offer. Usual Matsuri (festival) fair like at the Tokyo Motor Show. Greasy frankfurters on sticks, that sweet yaki soba noodle stuff, curry udon blah blah but there will always be McDonald's I suppose. Might have English menus for this event though :)
choiwaruoyaji
@CH3CHO
Actually, I don't think it is unique to socialist nations.
How about in Japan?
Many love hotels, for example, have very extravagant "good-for-nothing decoration"...
I can only speak for myself but I can certainly say, yes, it does do some good for my performance.
Rabindra Maharjan
These are such a funny designs. Zaha Hadid's design much more better. I wish japan will think once again before final selection. because Olympic stadium is the face of Japan, Japan will be recognized by this face. I suggest to select Zaha hadid's design but select different construction company who can build in reasonable cost.
nath
Yeah, the Bird's nest is fascinating.
gokai_wo_maneku
One of them seems to be incomplete. Or is that a metaphor for the incompleteness of the project of life. That is, it makes an existential statement. I'll take that one.
trouble
Why not use the stadium in Shin-Yokohama and not spend over a hundred billion yen? Google it. It's huge and modern.
nath
There is no existing stadium anymore. They tore it down.
nath
I don't like either of them as much as the 'bike helmet'.
And why were only two companies bidding?
nakanoguy01
then what was the point of all those thousands of submission when this makes it sound like the gov't already had these two designs in mind? and who wants to be that both of these companies are from japan because there was so much made about it being "foreign-designed" last time.
M3M3M3
As a resident of Yokohama I think this is a great idea. We would warmly welcome everyone from Tokyo to the games of the XXXII Olympiad, Yokohama 2020. But the Olympic motto 'Citius, Altius, Fortius' (Faster, Higher, Stronger) would have to be changed to 'Vilius, Longius, et Ipsa Impeditissimum' (Cheaper, Farther, and very Embarrassing)
A_cross
So I am going to have to look out of my window at one of these every day for the rest of my life? As an architect, I was looking forward to seeing Zaha's design there.
What they mean by "understated" is that, besides eliminating the modern requirement for an enclosed roof, they have removed most of the social and cultural elements, and left only the bare-bones seating with perhaps a few ramen stalls.
Plus they fiddled the costs to make these smaller buildings look cheaper (for now) and Zaha's look more expensive. Even so, only "40% over budget" seems too low. I predict that by 2020 ¥260 billion for Zaha's design will seem like a bargain.
Conspiracy Theories
LOL!
It would seem more cost effective if you made the surrounding greenery and shrubbery match a more appealing design.
Alistair Carnell
Is it just me, or does that second one's roof look like a gaping vulva ?
Throw that designer into jail, forthwith ! (End sarcasm mode)
sf2k
Another shrubbery!!! Duuunnn
Patric Spohn
B
Mirai Hayashi
boring!
A_cross
The report says "Japan Sports Council ... did not identify which companies have proposed which designs."
However, in Japanese, reports say that Scheme A is proposed by Taisei Corporation, design by Azusa Sekkei with Kengo Kuma and Scheme B is proposed by a consortium of Takenaka Komuten, Shimizu Corporation and Obayashi, design by Nihon Sekkei with Toyo Ito.
The costs quoted do not include the partial roof, which adds around ¥30 billion to the total, compared with Zaha's retractable roof which was reported to cost ¥95 billion. So they still have to cancel performances when it rains.
papigiulio
This looks actually much better than that behemoth of a bicycle helmet.
Paul England
Which one will better withstand the impending dual between Tetsuo & Kaneda?
daito_hak
153 billion yen..... What a waste of money. They could have just kept the old one and save tax payers from being again ripped off. This cost actually adds up to the cancelation fees that they have to pay for the previous design.
But what a hell are you talking about? You said you think but I am not sure you are thinking. Otherwise what could explain such blatant nonsense?
And you often come up with this socialism thing, but really I would encourage you to open a book (I said book not manga) and document yourself about what socialism really means.
KnowBetter
BOTH UGLY AND BORING!!!
Running out of time and now they are just looking to waste money on getting something finished in time no matter how boring it is. What a colossal waste of money this will be.
Peeping_Tom
"I don't like either of them as much as the 'bike helmet'."
Solution: get on yer bike and go build a helmet in yer own country!
Simples!
Disillusioned
So, will this one be made out sticks?
bogva
I always loved Japan for not being 'slave' to the exuberant in favor of the practical. Imagine if they tried to make Tokyo metro look like Moscow metro for example!
I am not going to watch the stadium from above 99.9% of the time so I don't need to see a 'beautiful' let it be helmet or whatever!!!
The green surroundings, internal structural rigidity and functionality is what matters! Hope they can make the selection process transparent this time though!
WilliB
Both seem better than the Hadid monstrosity, but I still don´t understand why they can´t simply renovate and upgrade the existing stadium? It is structurally sound and has a history behind it.
Why always break things down and pour more concrete?
CH3CHO
choiwaruoyajiDEC. 14, 2015 - 07:32PM JST
The decoration of "love hotels" creates positive cash flow.
The decoration of national stadiums creates negative cash flow. That is the difference.
CH3CHO
Does the design do any good to the performance of the athletes? I think that kind of good-for-nothing decoration is unique to socialist nations.