Populous has designed the Masterplan for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. Over 198 hectares will be built into the existing city, including public buildings, schools, exhibition centers, Olympic venues and athlete accommodations. Many of the buildings will glow like lanterns and careful attention will be paid to creating lush, picturesque landscaping and incorporating sustainable strategies.
The Masterplan has been conceived with the legacy at the forefront and will include public buildings, such as schools and exhibition centers, alongside Olympic venues and the athlete’s accommodation. Populous has been able to draw upon their considerable experience in delivering sustainable Masterplanning for other Olympic sites which include the London 2012 Olympic Park and the Sochi 2014 Olympic Park.
Ashley Munday, Principal of the master planning team for the Nanjing submission said, “Our primary brief was to create a lasting legacy for the city of Nanjing following the Youth Olympics in 2014. The master plan was designed with the long term development of the city in mind and the Olympic Games have been carefully positioned to inhabit the new city rather than retrofit a legacy. Nanjing will literally light up for the Games, highlighting the city as the host of the Games.”
Populous’ plan will build out over 189 hectares in the city, initially constructing 400,000 square meters (4.3 million square feet) of new building space, which, after the games, will amount to 3 million square meters (32 million square feet). Initial images released for the master plan reveal incredibly lush landscaping, a monorail-like transportation system and living wall covered accommodations. The plan for Nanjing is designed to benefit the city even after the games and the youth have come and gone.
