Tokyo 2020 stadium breaks ground
On 11 December, the Japanese capital Tokyo held a ceremony to break ground on the new national stadium that will serve as the main venue for the 2020 Olympic Games.
Among those in attendance were Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe and the governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike.
The groundbreaking ceremony ended with a video revealing how the stadium, which will host both the Opening and Closing Ceremony of the 2020 Games as well as the athletics programme, will look once construction is completed by November 2019.
Kengo Kuma, the architect of the new stadium, opted for a wooden lattice design that echoes traditional styles seen in Japanese temples and pagodas. It is intended to blend in with surrounding parkland and will be structured to minimise heating costs.
The structure will use Japanese-grown larch in its wood and steel composite roof and prefabricated panels to accelerate construction and contain costs.