At a time when sports infrastructures are regional development initiators, sport is more than ever tied to the city. And even if these facilities’ ambitions are occasionally questionable, they are nonetheless factors – and often accelerators – of the revitalization of districts, cities, or even whole territories, creating economic growth and social cohesion. L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui has devoted its No. 410 Report to today’s relationship between the city and its sports infrastructures. The projects presented examine every scale, from the renovated sports ground in the urban fabric of Altos de Cazucá in Bolivia by Giancarlo Mazzanti to the rehabilitation of one of the 183 Tournesol swimming pools, that of Lingolsheim by Urbane Kultur, as well as Zaha Hadid’s Aquatics Centre for the 2012 London Olympics. Moreover, what can be said about the London Games? Edwin Heathcote, architecture critic for AA and the Financial Times, provides a mitigated evaluation of this event. The Games are revitalization springboards but they also foster social segregation. See what is emerging in Rio de Janeiro or in Tokyo, two cities getting ready to host the next Olympics, in 2016 and 2020. Last, AA examines Paris’ bid for the 2024 Olympic Games and questions the legitimacy of a “world-city with urban maturity” in hosting an event like this. Sport is also the Trends section topic, which presents a selection of projects and products focused on the treatment of light and acoustics in sport facilities.
The Viewpoints section offers a transversal approach to architecture through different subjects. The Design feature highlights colour and stresses its importance in our interiors, beyond the structuring of space. The Art subject looks at the Polish artist Zbigniew Libera’s iconoclastic and controversial work, denouncing political and consumerist ideologies. Last but not least, AA reviews the legacy of the Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto, whose creations have kept all their impact nearly 40 years after his death.
Find out more on all these features in AA No. 410, available in newsstands from 18 December 2015.