THE
GLOBE CONNECTING INSIDE OUT
OLYMPIC
LANDMARK, PARIS, FRANCE, 2004.
international
competition for the realization of the olympic landmark paris, france.
motto
turning the external inwards, opening the internal outwards, and bringing
together the many to create one, "des jeux de toutes les couleurs."
the five
outwardly turned spherical segments are attached to one another at their
tangent points, creating a common central area using the external surface
are of the segments and presenting themselves with their interiors facing
outwards. the segments all originate from the same sphere.
idea
during the olympic games 2012 in paris, the five continents of the world
will come together to participate in friendly competition in the spirit
of the olympic games. africa, america, asia, australia, and europe present
themselves with all of the colors and cultures of our common world. they
will meet in paris and together they will create the olympic spirit of
these unique games. the rotation of the sphere segments' outer surfaces
inward, their mutual physical support, and the common central area characterized
by the outer surface of the segments translates into the momentum of the
olympic spirit on location. the olympic flame, the symbol of the games,
can be found in the atmosphere of this space. the center is both the scene
of the matches, as well as the fulcrum and crucial point of paris' bid
for the olympic games of 2012.
sport
the interaction of individuals is the foundation of the community. however,
in friendly competition there will always be winners and losers. this
tension between community and victory expresses itself in the towering
spherical segments, each individually pointing in different directions
and rotated 15 degrees from each other. even during the moment of victory,
the 15-degree-positioning of the segments also highlights the source of
all sportive activities, namely group interaction.
history/culture
according to ancient traditions, the time of the olympic games has always
been closely linked with peace. this holds true for future olympic games,
especially for the games of 2012. through the sensibility of their positioning
(the interior facing visitors from the outside), the spherical segments
(seen from an urban context) make reference to the importance and fragility
of this ceremonial time. the cultures present themselves. they open up
their interiors to the world.
urban
planning
from an urban planning point of view, the site features passageways, entrances,
and exits pointing in five directions. if the main entrance, as stated
in the competition rules, is located at the junction of rue cardinet and
rue truffaut for safety and control reasons, then visitors will be filtered
through the organizational entryway on the perimeter of the premises from
where they can move freely in all directions once inside. if more security
entrances are allowed on the premises, then the site would be directly
accessible from all parts of the city. the visitors could fill the central
area from all sides.
on
location
the upward-expanding interior spaces offer the visitor a continually expanding
view of paris with each new step upwards. visitors come together as they
ascend the structure where they can view information relating to the substance
of the games of 2012. this can be best experienced from half way up the
center of the interior space where the segments are at their widest. the
stairway's curved structure positions visitors near the middle of the
segments. after climbing further, the vista point at 24 meters above ground
level can be reached. from here visitors can direct their attention to
the panoramic views of the city and take in new views of the parisian
cityscape. the vista point with an area of 57mē faces the north towards
the park "batignolles," which will be opened in january 2005. the longitudinal
sides of the vista platform will provide a complete view of the area where
the olympic village will be built. production
the object is by means of form, design, and choice of materials a complex,
double-curved projection screen. "des jeux de toutes les couleurs" come
alive at dusk through the possibility of individual light projections
realized by the city on the interior surfaces of the spherical segments.
together, they represent the character of competition and the olympic
games. the light in the interior space of the object, characterized by
the outer surface of the segments, is white. white is the sum of all colors
and in this sense represents the union of all the cultures of the world
during the olympic games of 2012. |