UPD 2015-22-12: The Japanese authorities have chosen to implement the version of Kengo Kuma, previously presented to the public as "Design A". Zaha Hadid said that this project is noticeably similar to her own in terms of the layout and configuration of the "amphitheater" of the stands.
Now the main stadium of the 2020 Olympic Games will look completely different, it will become closer to nature, and it will cost much less than the Hadid project - at least that's what its creators believe. The Japanese authorities will have to choose one of the two options before the end of 2015. Now the projects are marked as anonymous "Design A" and "Design B", however, according to foreign media reports, Japanese architects Kengo Kuma and Toyo Ito participated in their development.
Alternative arena projects were developed in just five months - after the Japanese authorities decided to abandon Zaha Hadid's ambitious and therefore very expensive project, selected as a result of an international competition back in 2012; its cost, according to the latest data, would have been $ 2 billion (and was originally called the amount of $ 3 billion). The new options are more restrained than the work of a British architect, and very "Japanese". They are an attempt to follow the traditions of national architecture, where the object is associated with nature. For example, in both projects, wood is used as a key building material.
Design A is characterized by multi-tiered terraces with greenery and wooden trellis roofs. In "Design B" there are wooden columns around the perimeter of the arena; part of the roof is made of glass and has a wavy shape; as such, there are no corridors on the way to the stands: the open space is filled with air and light. Also, project B includes symbols of the five elements of Far Eastern philosophy - wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The cost of new projects is approximately the same - 153 billion Japanese yen (about 1.27 billion dollars), although option B is more expensive by 300 million yen.
According to the blog dezeen.com, Kengo Kuma partnered with Taisei Construction to develop Design A, while Design B was created by Toyo Ito, who worked on the project with three construction companies - Takanaka, Obayashi and Shimizu. It is noteworthy that in 2012, Toyo Ito's project reached the final of the competition for the development of the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, but then, we repeat, the jury chaired by Tadao Ando chose the option of Zaha Hadid.
In addition, Kuma and Ito were among the prominent Japanese architects who protested against Hadid Stadium in 2013, when they declared that the British architect's project "could be better", and indeed "too big" for Tokyo's Yoyogi district, where it will be built the new stadium and the famous buildings of the 1964 Olympics by Kenzo Tange.
It is expected that both versions of the stadium for 80,000 spectators will be reviewed by an expert committee and approved by the Japanese Cabinet of Ministers by the end of 2015. Previously, it was planned that construction work will begin in the fall of 2015, but now it seems that this stage will move to 2016 or even 2017. Recall that the main sports arena in Tokyo will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be held in the summer of 2020.
