Date of Submission
Summer 5-5-2017
Degree Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Department
Architecture
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. Mine Hashas-Degertekin
Secondary Advisor
Kathryn Bedette
Abstract
The post-Olympic Stadium is one of the greatest gems to be conceived from the Olympic Games and the quality of life for the city following it depends on how we can reuse the stadium when the torch goes out. In this study, strategies for adaptability will be analyzed for application to an existing post-Olympic stadium.
The urban fabric is where the stadium makes a negative impact: the displacement of local residents preceding and the urban voids proceeding the Olympic Games. It not only creates a physical void, but also a social void. Neighborhoods can be divided and the local community can be displaced. This thesis seeks to create a stitching of the voids both physically and socially. The study will revitalize the stadium and present it back to the local community in a state that is more accessible and usable.
Olympic stadia are the most essential architectural piece to the Olympic Games. The Olympic Stadium is the first facility to be designed and is the core for planning of the Olympic Complex. The current trend shows host cities planning for post-Olympic usage, but only in terms of program. This trend disrupts the relationship between the stadium and its city because the lack of planning for citizen connectivity and failure to address people that have been displaced. Usage of post-Olympic stadia imposes a positive impact on their host city due to its adaptability following the Olympic Games.
Implementing an adaptive or transformative stadium design can enable the stadium to foster a variety of programmatic functions and downsize to a more suitable capacity. This proposed stadium model will allow us to reimagine the notion of a stadium as a true public space by retaining the citizens within city and reintegrating the stadium into the city’s urban fabric. Since the Olympic Stadium is the first to be designed, it needs to be the first response in being a remedy to preventing an urban void.
The Olympic Stadium is the focal point of the Olympic Games spanning sixteen days by hosting the opening and closing ceremonies within host cities. For many host cities, the Olympic Stadium is more than just an architectural piece that houses spectacle. They are symbolic of national strength and pride, but most importantly an integral piece within a city’s urban fabric. The stadium is often overlooked to be reintegrated within a city as a post-Olympic legacy for the local community. By understanding the significance of a stadium in relation to the city, how can we prevent these post-Olympic artifacts from desolation?