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Does Zaha Hadid’s Tokyo Olympic Stadium have a design flaw?

Does Zaha Hadid’s Tokyo Olympic Stadium have a design flaw?

There are only so many materials one could choose to create a curved, retractable roof. Apparently Zaha Hadid's team chose a flammable one.


By BD+C Staff | July 8, 2014
Renderings: Zaha Hadid Architects
Renderings: Zaha Hadid Architects

Despite her extensive experience and established portfolio, household name and architect Zaha Hadid can’t seem to escape from scrutiny by fellow architects or even the public.

After criticism for her response to the deaths of migrant workers working on the stadium she designed for Qatar 2022, and then the rally of Japanese architects opposing the size of her design for the 2020 Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Hadid was recently called-out by Japanese architect Takashi Moriyama for choosing a flammable material for the retractable canopy.

In an interview with the Japan Times, Moriyama said that “When you try to put your ideas into action, you have to make some compromise in design; it’s inevitable. Zaha would never compromise…so the panel members should have examined if her design was really feasible, but they never did.”

 

 

Japan New National Stadium from Zaha Hadid Architects on Vimeo.

Japan Times reports that the stadium is currently designed to accommodate 80,000 spectators. The design was approved in late May by a panel of experts set up by the Japan sport Council.

For more information, read the full article at Japan Times.

 

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Mass Timber

Mass timber a big part of Western Washington University’s net-zero ambitions

Western Washington University, in Bellingham, Wash., 90 miles from Seattle, is in the process of expanding its ABET-accredited programs for electrical engineering, computer engineering and science, and energy science. As part of that process, the university is building Kaiser Borsari Hall, the 54,000-sf new home for those academic disciplines that will include teaching labs, research labs, classrooms, collaborative spaces, and administrative offices.




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