Organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics unveiled the custom built gymnastics venue inspired by Japanese architecture on Tuesday. The Ariake Gymnastics Centre was built using wood from across the country using approximately 2,300 cubic metres of wood.
Built at a cost of 20.5 billion yen, the venue features a domed ceiling constructed from Japanese larch with no steel framework and is among the largest of its kind in the world. Organisers said it was intended to look like a “a wooden bowl, floating in the bay area. The building symbolizes Japan’s wood culture and viewers can feel its simple beauty”, the organizers said.
The venue can seat 12,000 spectators on long benches placed around the space, which is later expected to be converted into an exhibition centre after the Games.
