Plans to build a Tokyo Olympic stadium sort of looking like a bike helmet are being abandoned after the design and expense incited controversy, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday, and the city's planning team will start the process over.
A modern design for the
stadium, which CNN said critics compared to a giant bike helmet, spiked some of the initial controversy, but the high price tag of $2.02 billion caused even more to speak out against the project.
The stadium had been proposed as part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and Abe said Friday that a new design will be sought, with a focus on decreasing costs, CNN reported. The first design was done by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, a well-known and award-winning architect.
In a statement, Zaha Hadid Architects said the business has worked with the Japan Sports Council to create the national stadium, and said it was “absolutely right” that the benefits and costs be considered clearly and communicated accurately.
"We have used our experience on major sports and cultural projects ... to design a stadium that can be built cost effectively and still deliver the flexible and robust National Stadium that the Japan Sports Council requires,” the statement said. "It is not the case that the recently reported cost increases are due to the design, which uses standard materials and techniques well within the capability of Japanese contractors and meets the budget set by the Japan Sports Council. The real challenge for the stadium has been agreeing an acceptable construction cost against the backdrop of steep annual increases in construction costs in Tokyo and a fixed deadline.”
Still, Abe told CNN, "I have made a decision to take the plan back to square one and reconsider."
Doing so means the stadium will not be able to host the Rugby World Cup in 2019, but is anticipated to be ready for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, CNN said.
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