The curvaceous Aquatics Centre she
created for the London Olympics in
2012 was described as “magnificent”, winning over doubters despite its expense. But Zaha Hadid’s plans for an even more ambitious Games venue have
been left in tatters after Japan pulled
the plug on its controversial national
stadium.
The celebrated British-Iraqi architect’s winning design for the venue, set to be the centrepiece of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, had been compared to a bicycle helmet. But scepticism turned to anger as the stadium’s construction costs spiralled out of control, with one
critic describing it as “a turtle waiting for Japan to sink so that it can swim away”.
In the face of increasing public fury
over the venue’s £1.3bn price tag, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that the project would be ditched. The decision means the stadium will now not be ready in time for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, throwing preparations for the tournament into disarray.
“We are scrapping our plans for the
stadium, and starting from zero,” Mr
Abe said. “The Olympics are a party for our people, and they and the athletes are the main players. We need to make it something that they can celebrate.”
Japan’s decision is the latest setback for Ms Hadid, whose firm has been criticised for working in countries with questionable human rights records.
She is one of my favorite modern Architects, read more about this news here.
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