The 2020 Olympic Games postponed to next year in Tokyo, Japan are now less than one year away, but work is already underway for the edition after that, heading to Paris in 2024. Of the 36 venues set to stage the Olympics in 2024, only two new, large-scale venues are being constructed from scratch, one of which is the aquatics center.
The architects responsible for the design of the new 2024 Paris Olympics Aquatic Center, MAD Architects, have submitted their proposal for the enormous production, with the sports facility envisioned as an ‘urban public artwork that showcases the beauty and hope of Paris.’
Construction Canada describes the building’s design as follows:
Through the white translucent curtain wall, natural light is able to enter the interior, creating a continuous play of light and shadow. On the exterior, it also functions as a 360-degree projection screen. During the games, it will display information and provide live broadcasts of on-going events inside. In collaboration with local multimedia artists, it will become the largest display interface of public art in the region.
The facility is set to accommodate 5000 spectators but, as with Olympic stadiums in the past, can reduce its seating to half the size for post-Olympics events.
70% of the structure will be composed of wood, which the architects say will minimize the project’s carbon footprints. Construction Canada also says that the building will employ renewable energies, with large solar panels contributing to the reduction of light and energy consumption; and rainwater collection systems recycle water to irrigate integrated landscaping that covers an area of 6000 m2 (64,583 sf).
You can view renderings of the Paris 2024 Olympic Aquatics Center on the MAD Architects website here.
They want to spend less money as possible that’s why they restricted the number of seats. And yes, it will be very expensive .. because it’s paris 🤷♂️
5000 makes it close to the smallest venue for Olympic swimming. Paris managed 8000 in 1924. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Olympic_venues_in_swimming
I remember back in 1976, FINA was threatening to pull swimming out of the Games because the original design for the aquatics complex seating was (if I remember this correctly) something like 2,500. I guess 5,000 is ok, but those tickets are going to be super expensive with such limited seating.
It is 3 years since Paris was selected, and they are starting to look at pool designs? I know they have plenty of time, but it amazes me the leisurely pace of these organizing committees !
French time 🙂
Seems like the focus is making green statements in the building of the facilities:
“The ambitions of the 2024 Paris Olympics is to instill environmental change and work towards hosting the games as carbon neutral. The 36 venues set for Paris 2024 will be housed in existing or temporary infrastructure, with only two new large-scale venues being built. One of these is the Aquatic Center. ”
http://www.i-mad.com/press/mad-reveals-design-for-2024-paris-olympics-aquatic-center/
Umm, 5000 spectators at the Olympics?? For swimming? I was hoping SwimSwam left a ‘1’ off, but that’s what the site says as well. Is that possible? If so, that is absolute insanity for a sport that could easily sell 20,000 tickets, especially in Europe. What am I missing?
Less than half the capacity of any other aquatics venue this millennium.
Maybe they built it small to minimize the carbon footprint?
Certainly looks small….
http://www.i-mad.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/04_MAD_ParisAquaticCenter_interior_by-MIR-e1595249967313.jpg
I know it’s a bummer, but for for the future of the Olympics it might be a good strategy. Building 17,000-seat temporary swim stadiums ain’t cheap. Fewer cities are bidding on the olympics and even fewer cities are excited by the prospect of hosting them. Building venues that are more cost effective is probably good for the future of the event. Also, it’s a green design and I think Paris wants to genuinely have a more environmentally sustainable games and this sounds like a cool design.
That or stop hosting the Olympics if your country can’t support the larger venues.
Agree.
That’s the issue… nobody wants to host with the current model of venue construction. Would you want to be a tax payer funding a 16,000-seat swimming stadium and then pay for it to be shrunk down to a 3,000 seat stadium? Pretty sure ticket sales from 8 days of Olympic swimming won’t cover those construction costs.
FINA (now called World Aquatics), is moving away from the demand of 6,000 seats to hold a World Aquatics. This is because networking and digital streaming are starting to take over. The Olympics have normally demanded 25,000 seeds and that is a terrible waste of money that cannot be recovered during the games.
I totally agree with this reduction in seating on the pool deck.
My suggestion is that there should be enough seats to cover the requirement for judges and coaches and other officials during the games. Maybe 1000 to 2000 seats on the pool deck.
After the games then the facility could accommodate parents and friends watching their children take lessons or accompanying other people.
I wonder if it’s a waste because of where it’s being hosted? There have been lots of big meets lately in countries where the populations could not care less about swimming.
The US has no trouble filling up the Olympic Trials with 17000 per session (we’ll see about 35,000) in a temporary arena. I agree that building massive swim-specific stadiums for Worlds is a waste, but I think that putting the temporary pools in big existing arenas is a model that can still work, in the right country.