Kengo Kuma, a Japanese architect, who helped design the stadium for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
It all started with a competition, where the winner’s design for the new stadium would be built and showcased during the games. During this contest, Kengo Kuma actually did not get first. Initially, the winner of the contest was an architect named Zaha Hadid, whose design actually won. However, through closer examination, the design required too much money and was, overall, over their budget. Due to these constraints, Kengo Kuma’s design was declared victorious in round 3.
After 36 months, Kengo Kuma’s design was built. Throughout his design, you can notice the amount of greenery and sustainable materials that Kuma used. He had a total of 47,000 trees that surround the area, as well as the main material in the build being wood. Kengo Kuma wanted the stadium to be the most sustainability-conscious in the history of the games, by basing his concept off of a living tree. In the build, he utilized materials like wood, and because of its lightness, it made building such a large building easy, due to the fact that the supports for the building didn’t have to be as strong.
Now, going back to the #47, throughout the stadium, you notice that Kuma implemented the #47 in many different ways. He used 47,000 trees that surround the area, the height of the building is 47 meters, and the wood that was used in the construction was from each of the 47 prefectures of Japan.
Despite not winning the initial competition, Kuma’s blend of nature showcased the potential of sustainability by being able to use simple materials like wood to create a masterpiece. He took this opportunity to inspire our society to take action, ultimately displaying his quote: “Building for the future means being in harmony with the Earth.”
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