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Olympic Overlay
Designing Olympics venues represents a significant challenge to both the Organizing Committee and the design team. The events of the Olympic Games occur over a two-week period, followed one month later by the Paralympics, which has a similar timetable. The IOC requires that facilities host test events a year prior to the Games. This allows the Organizing Committee to adjust for any shortcomings, hence, creating a timeframe of approximately one and a half years of service toward the Olympic Games. Temporary accommodations and facilities must be designed and built to meet this requirement. Key elements that affect venue planning and design are reuse, economies of temporary construction, security, and queuing/circulation.
Facility Reuse The venue facility brief will impact the design of permanent facilities. Facilities intended for significantly different post-Olympic functions may require fundamental modifications to satisfy long-term viability. For example, in Atlanta and Sydney, the stadiums were not planned to host future athletics events, consequently, various functional requirements were designed with future relocation in mind. Seating sections were designed to be removed and reused and the arena area was reconfigured. Media facilities may need relocation to a more centralized configuration for the long-term. With the finish line for the athletics track not at mid pitch, the media may be in a location that differs from the post-Olympic uses such as football, rugby or baseball. Temporary accommodation may be provided and subsequently removed, as in fit-out of spaces to accommodate the large media, athlete and other Olympic family requirements.
Temporary Construction The use of completely temporary facilities for smaller venues, such as beach volleyball or the equestrian events can help to contain costs and reduce long-term liabilities (underutilized facilities) that require additional government subsidies for maintenance, staffing and operations. |
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Atlanta Olympic Stadium |
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Turner Field Conversion |
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Weightlifting Venue at the World Congress Center |
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Temporary venue for Road Cycling |
