The architects whose controversial plans for a dramatic £1.3bn Tokyo Olympic stadium were scrapped by the Japanese government over concerns about costs hit back on Tuesday, claiming it was not the design at fault but rapidly rising construction costs.
London-based Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) warned the Japanese prime minister, Shinzō Abe, that ditching their award-winning design team and their knowledge risked the stadium not being completed in time for the 2020 Olympics, or a lower quality stadium which would require expensive upgrading for long-term use.
Ambitious plans for the stadium, which has been likened to a bike helmet and which was scheduled to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, were described by one Japanese architect as “like a turtle waiting for Japan to sink so that it can swim away”.
Abe announced the decision to go back to the drawing board earlier in July after a public backlash over a doubling of the original costs estimate. ZHA was selected from 46 entries to design the new national stadium for Japan, which is expected to host national and international events for the next 50 to 100 years.
In a statement the firm blamed a building boom in Tokyo, limited labour supply, a significant drop in the yen, and the uncompetitive way construction contractors were appointed for the escalating costs.
It said a limited number of contractors were appointed before being invited to submit costs at a time when the cost of building in Tokyo was rocketing.
“As ZHA has considerable experience in this process we advised the JSC (Japan sport council) that working to a immovable completion date, against a backdrop of rocketing annual increases in the cost of building in Tokyo, and in the absence of any international competition, the early selection of a limited number of construction contractors would not lead to a commercially competitive process,” the statement said. “Our warning was not heeded.”
Starting from scratch did not tackle these fundamental issues which could become even more problematic, and a rushed design process risked producing a lower standard national stadium, it said.
Zaha Hadid has designed a similarly divisive stadium for the 2022 Football World Cup in Qatar, while her Aquatics Centre in the London 2012 Olympic park faced a similar controversy to Tokyo when costs tripled to £269m.
Last year the Iraqi-British architect hit back at criticism by her peers over the Tokyo project, telling Dezeen magazine they did not want a “foreigner” to build Japan’s national stadium.
ZHA added it was willing to produce a lower cost design ready to welcome the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and had written to Abe to offer its services as he reviews the project.
News of the scrapping of the project had been greeted with dismay from the world rugby’s governing body.
IOC vice-president John Coates has said it had been reassured that the review would not affect the delivery of the stadium in time for the Games.
