After scrapping the first design in July, the Japanese government Tuesday "picked a less-costly and greenery-rich plan by architect Kengo Kuma for the new National Stadium that will serve as the centerpiece of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," according to Shusuke Murai of the JAPAN TIMES. The winning proposal, formerly known as design A, "was submitted by a joint venture comprised of an architect, construction firm Taisei Corp. and construction support firm Azusa Sekkei Co." It "features a roof made of wood and steel for a design that draws on traditional Japanese architecture." It has already been dubbed the "hamburger" on social media in Japan. The height of the stadium has been set at less than 50m so it will fit its landscape, "apparently to avoid what critics said were mistakes in the ill-fated design by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid." The decision came after five months of "reviewing and rearranging the construction project after consulting athletes, professionals and other stakeholders." Olympic Minister Toshiaki Endo said, "To be honest, I feel a bit relieved now. At the same time, I expect the winning companies to build a new National Stadium that can win trust from the world and people in Japan by taking full advantage of Japanese technologies and finishing the construction on time." The Japan Sport Council, which is overseeing the construction project, "will finalize the contract with the winning party next month and plans to start construction" as early as Dec. '16. All construction "is scheduled to finish" by Nov. '19 so that the stadium will be ready for the Olympics opening ceremony in July '20. The estimated cost of the overall project, including construction, design and other work, is estimated at 153B yen ($1.26B), "of which the central government will pay half." The rest "will come from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and revenue from the sports promotion lottery organized by the JSC" (JAPAN TIMES, 12/22). In London, Leo Lewis reported other setbacks to preparations "have included the forced scrapping of the Tokyo logo after accusations" that its basic form had been plagiarized from the emblem of a theater in Belgium. In a further blow, Toyota President Akio Toyoda resigned on Monday from the Olympic organizing committee, "offering little explanation for the move." Shares in Taisei, the construction company expected to lead the building of Kuma's stadium, "surged over 4 percent after the choice was announced" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 12/22). REUTERS' Kiyoshi Takenaka reported the stadium "will have capacity of 68,000, which can be raised to 80,000" to host World Cup finals (REUTERS, 12/22).
