2016 Rio Olympics: 4 Breathtaking Buildings
These modern Olympic structures are the latest Brazilian design beauties
Sewage in the sea, slipshod athletes’ housing construction, and a Russian doping scandal—these are but a few of the problems currently plaguing the Rio 2016 Olympics, which will open this Friday, August 5, and run until August 21. But of course, the games must go on, and all eyes will be on Rio de Janeiro for the next two weeks.
The spotlight will also be on the Olympic complex. International architects have always vied to work on Olympic stadiums and buildings, most of which have sculptural forms (like the “Bird’s Nest” of the 2008 Beijing Olympics), and Rio is no exception.
While their designs have been mostly under the radar, Brazilian architects working with other foreign architectural firms have designed stunning Olympic buildings using “Nomadic Architecture” techniques (meaning, the buildings can be dismantled after the Olympics to be transformed into other structures, dispelling the common notion that Olympic buildings become unused and wasteful). These also have hints of the trademark organic-modern touches found in iconic Brazilian architects’ works like that of Oscar Niemeyer. Here are four standouts:
