The Olympic Village Plaza, the gateway to the Olympic and Paralympic Village of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, has been built from timber donated by 63 municipalities in Japan.
One of the most significant sustainability initiatives at Tokyo 2020, the Olympic Village Plaza is located in the Harumi waterfront district of Tokyo and will function as the central hub of the Village for athletes.
Designed by Tokyo-based architecture studio Nikken Sekkei, the timber building is a temporary structure built using 40,000 pieces of ‘borrowed’ sustainable timber including Japanese cypress, cedar and larch, all donated by local governments across Japan.
Nikken Sekkei’s design of the Plaza takes inspiration from traditional Japanese buildings.
According to the organisers, the use of timber from various regions aims to express diversity and harmony. Each piece of timber is marked with the name of the place it is sourced from; the building will be dismantled after the Games and the timber will be returned to these municipalities for use in public projects.
The 5,300-square-metre Plaza offers a range of facilities and services to support athletes, team officials and guests during their stay at the Village. Key features include retail stores, café, media centre, hair salon, bank, ATMs, drycleaner, post office, medical station and lounges among others.
Image credit: Tokyo 2020
