Architecture and Sport

he Olympic organizers have always sought to with a clear and organic form in accordance with T find an architect of renown to design the sta­ the static proportions. Notable examples are the dium. This usually takes place through architectu­ Daily Telegraph Building (1928) and the Daily ral competitions. Since however pre-existing sta­ Express Building (1932) in 's Fleet Street diums were frequently employed, only the Olym­ and the Dorchester Hotel (1930) in Park Lane, pic in , Munich and were also in London. the outcome of a successful competition. In the Yrjo Lindegren (1900-1952), who collabo­ case of , the contract was awarded not rated in designing the Helsinki Olympic to a native architect, but to a Frenchman, Roger with Tovio Jantti(1900-1975) was one of the best- Taillibert. known architects in . His exterior design for the insurance company building in Elenvara, The author was unable to obtain any infor­ constructed in 1928, was very much indebted to mation about the work of the Australian architect Arthur W. Purnell (Cricket Ground Stadium) and the architect of the Jingu National Stadium in . The terrace extension occasioned by the Tokyo Olympics was designed by the City Plan­ ning Authorities.

All the other architects had attained consid­ erable renown before being commissioned to design the respective stadiums. Two of the most internationally outstanding architects among them are the Frenchman Roger Taillibert, one of the first to propagate the transition from an open- air to an indoor stadium, and the German Otto Yrjo Lindegren, one o f the most well-known architects in Finland, designed Helsinki Stadium and remodelled Frei, precursor of the modern suspended roof. the centre of the Finnish capital. What follows is a synopsis of the work of these architects in chronological order intended to make clear the different approaches to the task at hand and the influences subsequently exerted by OLYMPIC STADIUMS their designs. The engineer Sir Owen Williams(1890-1969), who designed the Wembley Park Stadium in FROM 1948 TO THE PRESENT DAY 1924, was the protagonist of the reinforced con­ crete and steel frame method of construction in THE ARCHITECTS England. Williams, the designer of the famous : Cricket Ground. Empire Pool (1932-1934), was Britain's first con­ structivist. He attracted attention as early as 1922 (Final Part) by his work with these new materials, initially in the new functionalism of the time as practised in aircraft and railway construction. He occupies a Germany. At the start of the 1930's however his by THOMAS SCHMIDT special place in English architectural devel­ work shows the influence of pure functionalism, opment, being neither a modernist strictly speak­ one outstanding example being the Olympic Sta­ We complete here the study of Olympic architecture. In one of the last ing, nor a traditionalist. His entire work, know­ dium, which won Lindegren an international rep­ issues, Thomas Schmidt discussed the choice of form in his presentation of ledge of which during his lifetime was almost utation. In his subsequent designs he remained totally confined to England, is, apart from the faithful to the principles of functionalism. Linde­ the main Olympic stadiums post-1948. He recalls in this final part the Pioneer Health Centre in London (1935) and the gren was also active in the field of town planning. careers of the architects who designed them and discusses Wembley Arena, composed mainly of large One of the main tasks entrusted to him was the their influence on contemporary architecture. industrial complexes which he sought to endow remodelling of Helsinki's city centre, a project

377

Source : Bibliothèque du CIO / IOC Library Architecture and Sport

which was completed by Aalto (1898-1976) by ities of the National Olympic Committee in man. Originally Behnisch was exclusively on the Moskva, opposite the Lenin Mountains. reason of Lindegren's early death in 1952. After Rome, Aqua Acetosa (1959-1960), the Athletic involved in the construction of schools where he Vlassov is one of the older generation of archi­ this death, Aulis Blomstadt was the direct inheri­ School in Formea (1956), railway termini in Rome pioneered in the consistent use of prefabricated tects who led the theoretical and practical found­ tor of his architectural legacy, completing the (1947-1950), the Sports Palace in Turin. methods. Important stages along this road were ations of socialist architecture and shaped the cit­ works which were still under construction or on the Hohenstaufen-Gymnasium in Goppingen ies of the Soviet Union. Vlassov made his name A. Perez Palacios(1904), architect of the Uni­ the drawing board at the time of his death in (1956-1959), the state Fachhochschule fiir Technik designing leisure and recreation parks e.g. the versity Stadium in Mexico City, is one of a gener­ accordance with his guidelines. in Ulm (1959-1963), the Mittelpunktschule in Gorky Culture Park. His Lusniki Sports Park, a ation of architects who attempted to find a new Annibale Vitellozzi (1902), the architect of Oppelsbohm (1966-1969) and the Progymnasium part of the Second City Development Plan for style of architecture after the revolution (1910- the third planning phase of Rome's Olympic Sta­ in Lorch-Württemburg (1972-1973). His latest in 1943, added a new dimension to 1929). Since the 1950's Palacios' work shows dium, is an advocate of rational architecture. His works include the Old Peoples' Home in Reut- inner city planning. Vlassov's work is character­ aspects peculiar to Mexican architecture. The designs in the 1930's for the railway stations in lingen (1973-1976), various projects for the Gov­ ised by his attempt to create contrast within a University Stadium is one of his best-known Florence and Venice are strikingly modern. His ernment Quarter in Bonn (1973-1981), and the given area. For example, the Krim suspension works. Palacios' constructions, predominantly design in the 1940's is similar to the German remodelling of Kônigstrasse and Schlossplatz in bridge which he constructed in 1935 forms a architecture of the time, marked by an adher­ office blocks, industrial complexes and hospitals, Stuttgart (1973-1980). The modern tent construc­ contrast to the bulky, monumental buildings ence to neo-classicism, e.g. the World Exhibition are simple and clear in conception with wall sur­ tion is to a large extent the work of Otto Frei along the river banks, and the Lenin Stadium, in Rome. After the war, Vitellozzi turned to faces being used to display symbolic reliefs. (1925). The traditional tent, forgotten or regarded which counterbalances the Lomonossov Univers­ merely as an exotic metaphor, was converted by ity. The People's Hall which Vlassov designed in Otto Frei into a prototype of the adaptable light 1932 introduced, by its use of organic forms and construction. His main works are the Exhibition structures, a turning point in Soviet architecture. Complex in Kassel (1959), Cologne (1957), Inter- One of his monumental postwar building com­ bau West Berlin (1957), Hamburg (1963), Lau­ plexes is the 1947 main street in Kiev. Here for sanne (1964), Expo '67 in Montreal, and various the first time outer walls were covered with tiles. projects for lightweight and suspended high-rise This became almost a standard procedure in later prefabs. Roger Taillibert, born in 1926 and architect of the sculpture-like in Montreal, gained a very early reputation as a specialist in the planning and construction of sports stadiums. His interest in the sculptural possibilities of archi­ tecture was first evidenced by the Deauville Swimming Stadium (1965), where the shell-like form of the roof serves as a kind of landscape The stands of the Olympic Stadium in Rome. mirror. Between 1968 and 1975, he constructed four swimming halls which aroused great interest both in and outside France on account of the parachute-like removable roof — made of artifi­ cial cloth — attached to a pole and which was designed in collaboration with Otto Frei. This was the first step away from the partial roof. Taillibert's The Worker Congress Hall in Turin o f Pier Luigi Nervi, whose work has made its mark on Italy. Montreal Stadium, with its provision for an indoor track, brought the development even further. Tail­ rationalist forms of construction. He collaborated At first sight the sophisticated tent-roof con­ libert sees his future using the computer to plan with his famous colleague Pier Luigi Nervi, on struction of the Munich Olympic Stadium, dem­ the large anonymous building complexes such as one of the most outstanding and innovative anding considerable engineering expertise, airports, exhibitions and Olympic Stadiums works of the time, the Palazzetto dello Sport seems somewhat uncharacteristic of the work of whose dimensions represent a new challenge for (1958). Furthermore, Vitellozzi played a decisive Günther Behnisch(1922). Nevertheless, its con­ modern architecture. role in the construction of several first-class sport­ ception corresponds exactly to Behnisch's pre­ A. Vlassov (1900-1962), the architect of the ing arenas : the Olympic Swimming Stadium, sent view of architecture, i.e. an artificial environ­ Lenin Stadium, is the designer of the city's best- Foro Italico : the sports grounds and training facil­ ment capable of being adapted in the service of known silhouette, the Sport and Leisure Complex

378 379

Source : Bibliothèque du CIO / IOC Library Architecture and Sport International Federations

building projects in the south-west of Moscow new period of development, the first fruits of and in the Lenin Stadium. As a rule the facades which are to be seen in the Lenin Stadium. In its of such large building projects were richly deco­ form and dimensions the stadium is a traditional rated. In 1954, a decision was taken at the Con­ construction but in accordance with the new gress of Soviet Architects in Moscow to eschew guidelines without superfluous decoration. such eclecticism. This marks the beginning of a T. S. FISA has brought its list of prohibited substances At its meeting in Dresden (GDR), Mr. Klaus Kotter into line with that of the IOC. Apart from beta- was re-elected President for a six-year period, blockers, unlikely to be used in rowing as they until 1994, in order to include the rescheduled impair performance, all substances banned by Winter Games that year. the IOC Medical Commission are now banned The federation decided to introduce seeding by FISA. This move was all the more necessary as at major events. The new system will start next it is the IOC list which will be in force during the season, with 12 top bob teams chosen for the two and four-man events on the basis of the pre­ Olympic rowing events in Seoul. vious season's World Cup results. It will come In comparison with the previous FISA list, into effect for the World Cup, European and the stimulant category has been simplified and World Championships. However, only one bob no longer includes different sub-groups. No new from a country can be seeded, a compromise substances appear and several substances which with the smaller national federations. After some are not stimulants have disappeared. complaints that the best teams have sometimes In the narco-analgesic category, certain sub­ been hampered by racing on courses late in stances have been replaced by others which, in competition, the FIBT President, Mr. Klaus Kotter practice, are used more frequently. These include says "we have made an important step towards Dextropropoxyphen. equal chances". No changes occur in the anabolic steroid Certain alterations in sled specifications were and diuretic categories. However, medicaments approved. Aerodynamic coverings over the run­ containing cortisone are now prohibited in the ners have been banned, and, in the interests of form of pills or intravenous and intramuscular safety, side panels can be a maximum of 5 cms injections. higher, up to a height of 65 cms. The 1989 European Championships, from 19th to 29th January 1989 were awarded to W in- terberg (FRG) and the 1989 World Champion­ ships, from 31st January to 12th February, to Cor­ tina d'Ampezzo (ITA). The 1992 European Cham­ pionships go to Koenigssee (FRG).

The work o f Roger Taillibert in Montreal, with the support cables for the canvas forming a canopy over the arena. IBA

The list of countries sending teams to compete in baseball, a demonstration event, at Seoul has been announced. The teams are divided into two groups, according to their results in the world championships over the past ten years, as 9 9 9 follows : 'W hite' group : ADS, CAN, USA, KOR and 'Blue' group : JPN, HOL, PUR, TPE. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the semi­ finals. The opening match takes place on 19th Sep­ tember in the Chamshil Baseball Stadium and will Mr. Klaus Kotter, left, in Calgary, in the company o f the King of pit the Australian team against that of Canada. Spain and the IOC President.

380 381

Source : Bibliothèque du CIO / IOC Library