Hasta La Ideas

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games get underway this Friday with an opening ceremony inside a Fabergé egg-inspired stadium by sports architecture firm Populous.

The Fisht Olympic Stadium is one of 11 new purpose-built venues designed for the 2014 winter games in Sochi, Russia, by Populous – the firm behind the London 2012 Olympic stadium – and it forms the centrepiece of the 200-hectare Olympic Park.

The building features a temporary shell-like roof based on the jewel-encrusted Fabergé eggs that have become an icon of Russian culture. Constructed from translucent polycarbonate, this roof will facilitate light projections during the games and is likened by the architects to the snow-covered peaks of the Caucasus Mountains.

The south side of the building was designed to shelter the stadium and spectators from the adjacent seafront, while longer elevations on the east and west sides open out to the plaza where the cauldron will be on show.

During the games the 40,000-seat stadium will be used to host the opening and closing ceremonies, but no sporting events. It will then be converted into a 45,000-seat football venue for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, before being downsized to a 25,000-seat club for a local football team.

Here are more details from Populous:

Fisht Olympic Stadium

Challenge

Russia’s bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics was part of a broader goal to step back onto the world stage as hosts of major sporting events (the country’s last event was the Moscow Summer Olympics back in 1980). The challenge was threefold: to convince the International Olympic Committee that Russia had both the vision and the infrastructure to host such a major event; to develop the popular summertime coastal resort of Sochi into a world class destination for winter sports, and to design a stadium flexible enough to facilitate the Olympic ceremonies, then act as a venue for FIFA World Cup matches and, finally, become the home venue for a local football team.

Innovation

For the first time, an Olympic Park has been designed as part of a Winter Games master plan. This unusual step guarantees a unique legacy for these Games, marking Sochi out as a winter destination for decades to come. Within the park, the main level of the stadium is raised on a landscaped mound, providing stunning views from within. The unique engineering systems will enable truly memorable opening and closing ceremonies while, post-Games, the in-built flexibility of the stadium’s design means its capacity can change over time to provide event configurations from 45,000 seats for FIFA World Cup matches to a compact, atmospheric 25,000 for local matches.

Impact

Winning the bid for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games has not only reinstated Russia’s reputation as a viable host for major events, but has transformed Sochi itself. The infrastructure that our work has helped create will regenerate the region, marking Sochi out as a year-round tourist destination and major new European winter sports centre.

Location: Sochi, Russia
Client: Olympstroy
Architect: Populous
Capacity: 40,000
Events: Opening and Closing Ceremonies, 2018 FIFA World Cup (legacy mode)

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Populous-designed stadium appeared first on Dezeen.

News: a team made up of architecture firms OMA, Hassell and Populous has been selected to redevelop Sydney’s convention, exhibition and entertainment precinct at Darling Harbour (+ slideshow).

Above: International Convention Centre

The Destination Sydney team, lead by developers Lend Lease, were today announced as the winning bidders with their plans to create a 40,000-square-metre exhibition centre, a red-carpet entertainment venue, a 900-room hotel and a new residential neighbourhood.

Dutch architects OMA will work alongside Hassell of Sydney and international firm Populous to deliver the 20-hectare masterplan, adding the new leisure complex to the north of Pier Street and new residential neighbourhood The Haymarket on the site of the existing Sydney Entertainment Centre and car park.

Above: the theatre

“This project will redefine Sydney as a global city and create one of the world’s great meeting and entertainment destinations,” commented Destination Sydney’s chief executive Malcolm Macintyre. “Not only will it become a beacon for international visitors for conventions and events but will also build on the appeal of the Darling Harbour area for Sydney-siders creating an entertainment hub that promises to reconnect and re-energise the city.”

A phased redevelopment will see the existing Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre close in December 2013, while the current Sydney Entertainment Centre will remain open until December 2015. Construction is set to complete in late 2016.

Above: The Haymarket neighbourhood

Darling Harbour sit adjacent to Sydney’s city centre and has established itself as a centre for entertainment on the western edge of the central business district. Other recent developments in the area include an office complex that was awarded at the World Architecture Festival.

OMA have completed a number of projects over the last year, including the China Central Television Headquarters in Beijing and the headquarters of the Rothschild Bank in London.

See all our stories about OMA »

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Sydney’s Darling Harbour appeared first on Dezeen.

Here are some photos of the completed 2012 London Olympic Stadium designed by HOK Sport (now known as Populous).

Construction was completed this week and the 80,000-seat stadium will now be prepared with a running track, scoreboards and gantries before a test event in May next year.

According to the Olympic Delivery Authority construction is complete three months ahead of schedule and cost £10 million less that the original estimate.

The design was unveiled in 2007 – see our story here.

More about 2012 London Olympic Games »
More buildings for sport »

Photographs are by Morley von Sternberg, courtesy Populous.

Here’s a tiny bit of text from Populous:

29th March 2011 marks the completion of the construction contract at the Olympic Stadium where the last piece of turf is being laid by ODA Chairman John Armitt.

Rod Sheard, Senior Principal at Populous, the Stadium architect said: “The construction of the world’s most environmentally friendly Olympic Stadium has taken just over 1,000 days, in the world of major construction it could be considered a sprint, its completion marks the beginning of the end of the construction phase of London’s Olympic Games. We can now all look forward to just under 500 days of the final preparation to when the world will see this innovative design perform for the first time.”

Above image is courtesy ODA

See also:

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London 2012 Velodrome by Hopkins Architects	London Gate by Donis	Wenlock and Mandeville by iris