Tokyo is addressing disputes regarding the future Olympic Stadium

Tokyo - Just a few weeks after riding the wave of euphoria from Tokyo's victory in the bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, organizers came back down to earth. They were brought back by a dispute over the impressive architectural piece that was to be the centerpiece of the games: a futuristic, helmet-like stadium, AFP reported today. "The building will be too large," says some critics. "Moreover, it will also be too expensive," others add.
    "People don't always like large buildings. Once the Olympics are over, many will have to look at it," said Fumihiko Maki, an award-winning Japanese architect who is also the designer of one of the new towers of the New York World Trade Center complex.
    The proposed stadium is the work of British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. It is set to rise in western Tokyo at the site of the national stadium, surrounded by many parks and a large Shinto shrine. According to plans, it is to reach a height of 70 meters and have a capacity of 80,000 seats.
    As a result, the stadium would be visible from anywhere in western Tokyo, including the meticulously maintained Shinjuku National Park. "It is important for people not to see it unless they want to," Maki stated. "If there are no events held inside, then it is just a massive object."
    The 85-year-old Japanese architecture veteran designed the Olympic venues for the 1964 games, during which Japan presented itself to the world as a modern, industrial nation.
    Maki's comments on the project followed revelations last month that the cost of building the stadium would reach 300 billion yen (about three billion dollars), more than double the 130 billion yen cited in the original proposal. The government has already announced that it will seek ways to reduce both the cost and the size of the stadium.
    It will have to deal with the demands of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which states that the main Olympic stadium must have a capacity of 80,000 spectators. Critics argue that such a stadium "does not fit" into the limited space available at the chosen construction site. However, it is the only available location that is connected to the central area of Tokyo.
    In this regard, the Japanese metropolis learned from its unsuccessful bid to host the 2016 games; at that time, it proposed building the stadium in the Tokyo Bay area, where there is more space. However, the IOC criticized this decision, stating that the area is separate from Tokyo itself.