WHEN IT COMES TO GLOBAL SPORTING EVENTS, THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS SET THE BAR HIGH. FROM THE UPCOMING COMMONWEALTH GAMES IN GLASGOW TO THE NEXT OLYMPICS IN RIO DE JANEIRO IN 2016, ESTATES GAZETTE LOOKS AT HOW THE REST OF THE WORLD IS PREPARING TO FOLLOW SUIT AND HOW THE REGENERATION OF EAST LONDON COMPARES TO POST-GAMES LEGACY PLANS AROUND THE WORLD
What stage are things up to now and how will Aecom’s role progress in the lead-up to the Games? The masterplan is now complete and has been submitted to the Rio 2016 Organising Committee. Sixteen teams of local and international architects and consultants have been selected to deliver the venues. On the main Barra site itself, – the consortium delivering the Games on site – is well into construction and the land has been prepared for the big build. We have a commission that will run all the way up to the Games overseeing design and construction to make sure everything is in line with the plans. So from this point on we have moved into a management role.
BRAZIL IN NUMBERS $2.2tn GDP $11,521 GDP PER CAPITA
196,655,000 107.1m 5.4%
POPULATION LABOUR FORCE UNEMPLOYMENT
What have been the main differences between working in London and Rio? Apart from the culture and language, the sites are very different. London was a complex site so we were working around the land whereas in Brazil we are drawing from the surrounding environment more to drive the design concepts. The main Olympic park in Rio is spectacular – a triangular space with water on either side. Apart from that we’ll be creating an urban centre, including housing, sports facilities and parkland for the developing community.
What are the main challenges you will have to face over the next three years? Labour costs are high and that is an issue with so much construction work going on at the moment. And the shape
of the site is difficult in terms of transport, which is why we’re focusing on that early on.
The question everyone hates – are you confident it will it be finished on time? You have to be, don’t you? There is no other option. Like every Olympic Games before this one, you can’t say “Oh, we’ll just run the event two months late”. So, yes, it will be finished on time.
There are concerns over possible 2014 World Cup delivery and timing issues shaking confidence in the Olympics. Is that a cause for concern for you? For us, having it first is an advantage. Lots of
what needs to be implemented for the Olympics in terms of infrastructure and transport are needed in time for the World Cup. So we see it as a huge built-in benefit.
“YOU CAN’T SAY ‘OH WE’LL JUST RUN THE EVENT TWO MONTHS LATE’. SO, YES, IT WILL BE FINISHED ON TIME”