5 marvellous structures built for the Olympic Games in Asia

With the Olympic Games 2016 upon us, we take a look at some of the best architectural designs in Asia from past events

Historically, the high from the Olympic Games is ephemeral and does not always translate to real estate growth in the host cities. Sales for Pure Island, the 3,600-unit complex of luxury apartment blocks in Rio de Janeiro where athletes of this year’s Games are billeted, have been middling at best.

From Athens to Atlanta, the Olympics have a habit of siring white elephants. Many structures built for the Games have sat vacant, become derelict, or get reclaimed by nature. One stadium is even used to house refugees.

Be that as it may, the Olympics have left a legacy of architectural feats in Asia that would shame Mount Olympus itself. Asia has hosted five Olympic Games so far, and Tokyo is preparing to expend JPY350 billion (USD3.5 billion) when it hosts the Summer Olympics in four years’ time.

Here are some structures that continue to inspire awe even after the torch was snuffed out.

Beijing National Stadium

This structure graced front pages worldwide due to its space-age persuasions. Designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron with the help of Chinese architect Li Xinggang and artist Ai Weiwei, the stadium is famed for its façade of latticed steel, hence the nickname Bird’s Nest.

Beijing National Aquatics Centre

Michael Phelps bagged a record number of gold medals in this venue, but the structure itself is famous in its own right. Designed by PTW Architects, the structure, nicknamed the Water Cube, stuns especially at night when its façade lights up into dozens of radiant bubbles made of a plastic polymer called ETFE.

Yoyogi National Gymnasium

The very first Olympics in Asia opened in 1964 at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo. With a curvaceous suspension roof designed by architect Kenzo Tange, the building has been an icon of the Japanese capital.

The Nippon Budokan

The Budokan in Tokyo, site of the martial arts contests in the 1964 Olympics, is as much famous for its ties to the Games as to music. It hosted the Beatles’ first-ever Japanese show, and rock’s biggest luminaries have since coveted a performance here.

Jamsil Olympic Stadium

Seoul, hosting the 1988 Summer Olympics, constructed this masterwork whose undulating profile is designed to evoke a porcelain vase from Korea’s Joseon Dynasty.

Have we missed anything? Sound off below.

Source: Property Report