Tokyo 2020 is making final adjustments before the arrival of athletes in July. The organizers of the Olympic Games revealed on Wednesday the "Village Plaza", a vast traditional Japanese-style wooden complex at the entrance of the Olympic village, which will serve as a gathering place and services for the athletes.
Of small height, the complex is not particularly impressive from the outside, but its 5,300 m2 extension is revealed as one enters its numerous semi-outdoor halls and galleries.
The Tokyo 2020 complex, which costs 2.4 billion yen (about 20 million euros), is intended for athletes, their teams, and journalists.
It will host various services for athletes (bank, medical service, hair salon, tourist office, official store of the Olympic Games), spaces for the media and press conferences, or a café.
Similar to historic Japanese buildings, the floors, walls, and pillars are made of wooden beams (cedar, cypress, larch), symbolically provided by sixty municipalities from all over the country.
Although it will be temporary, since it will be dismantled after Tokyo 2020, this is one of the showcases of the "sustainability" of the Olympic Games. Furthermore, the wood will be recycled afterwards by municipalities to build benches and public buildings.
Source: AFP