2010 Olympic Oval Wins Architecture Award
The Olympic Speed Skating Venue Receives Prestigious Honour
Oct 13, 2009
The Institution of Structural Awards bestowed the Award for Sports or Leisure Structures on the visually stunning Richmond Olympic Oval. The Oval, designed by Cannon Design, came out first ahead of three other structures:
- the Beijing National Stadium, also known as The Bird's Nest, the stadium built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics;
- the Elephant House at the Copenhagen Zoo, a state of the art facility for the animals;
- the retractable roof at the Wimbledon Tennis Centre in London, which protects centre court on rainy days.
It is the first major award for the Oval. It is the second Olympic skating venue to win this prestigious award. The Lingotto Speed Skating Oval, erected for the 2006 Torino Olympics won the award in 2006.
Richmond Oval Structural Design Award
The Richmond Oval was also one of eight structures short-listed for the World Architecture Festival Award's Structural Design Award. The winner will be announced in Barcelona, Spain, the weekend of November 4-6, 2009. The Arena Zagreb is the only other sports venue short listed. Arena Zagreb was designed to host the 2009 World Men's Handball Championships and will be converted to a multi-purpose sports venue and shopping centre. Arena Zagreb is in Croatia.
Many stadiums around the world stand out in the community. Some are built specifically for major world class competitions, whereas others are built by teams for their sole use.
The Emirates Stadium
The Emirates, in London, England, hosts English Premier League team Arsenal and opened in July 2006. The Emirates seats 60,000 and cost the equivalent of approximately $640 million to build. The stadium designers were HOK Sports (now called Populous), who also designed the Wimbledon Tennis Centre retractable roof, and the main stadium for the 2012 London Olympics.
Cowboy Stadium
Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, received the inaugural 'Spirit of Place' Award presented by Texas A & M Architecture School for "significant contributions to the built-environment" for the new Cowboy Stadium. The stadium holds 100,000 people and cost a whopping $1.1 billion to build. It is the largest enclosed NFL stadium and has the longest single span roof structure in the world. HKS Sports and Entertainment group are responsible for the design.
2010 South Africa World Cup Soccer City Stadium
This newly-reconstructed stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 World Cup, as well as the first and final match. The stadium has increased capacity from 80,000 to 94,700. Boogertman Urban Edge is the firm responsible for the overhaul of the stadium. Although the stadium itself has not won awards, the seating has. Khanda seating will be used in the stadium, a state of the art seat with the highest backrest of any stadium seat ever made.
The New Yankee Stadium
Host to the New York Yankees, this state of the art baseball arena was opened in April 2009. It replaced the lore-laden old Yankee Stadium but incorporated a number of core design elements. At a cost of $1.5 billion to build, it is the second most expensive stadium in the world. Yankee Stadium was built by Populous and has a capacity just under 53,000.
The New Wembley Stadium
Replacing one of the most historic football stadiums in the world was no easy task. The original Wembley was opened by King George in 1924 and was closed down in 2000. The new Wembley is the most expensive stadium ever built at a cost of approximately $1.6 billion, and has a seating capacity of 90,000. Wembley will host the Olympic football final in 2012 London Games.
World Class Stadium Legacies
The expense to build new stadiums or refurbish existing structures is huge. But the architects, designers and funding bodies have the vision to see the lasting benefits on generations of young people who will have access to the world class facilities. The City of Richmond, since the Oval dream began, has had one major objective and that is to ensure the Olympics leave a legacy of community involvement and sports excellence for years beyond the Olympics.
 |
 |
