If you’ve been paying any attention to Japan’s Olympic stadium woes in preparation for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 games, then you’ll know that the situation has become a complete mess.
The original design of the $2 billion stadium by Zaha Hadid was met with fury by many of the country’s own architects who said it looked like a bicycle helmet and would be disproportionately large to the surrounding environment.
Now, as the country goes “back to the drawing board”, they’re also having to face a $50 million bill for the scrapped stadium plans. Oh, and they also destroyed the historic stadium from the 1964 Olympic Games.
Fortunately, thanks to Japanese furniture company Karimoku’s quick thinking, 700 of the old stadium’s seats were rescued from the wrecking ball debris when the building was destroyed last year. With the goal of repurposing the seats into something functional, the company commissioned three Japanese industrial designers including Drill Design, Hiroko Shiratori and Gen Suzuki to design a limited edition line of furniture using the iconic blue seats.
The result is a collection of minimalist furniture that includes a stool, a chair and a two-seat bench that each range in cost from $260 to $535 – not bad for those wanting to own a small piece of Japanese history.
Those interested can find out more over about ordering a piece over at Karimoku. As for what’s next for the stadium build plans, perhaps the committee should consider sticking to a Japanese architect?
