Japan National Stadium

The Japan National Stadium  formerly known as New National Stadium, officially named

National Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium used mostly for association football in
Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.
The project is located in Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu Gaien district and took almost exactly three
years to build under the supervision of national construction giant Taisei Corporation.
National Stadium is nearly twice the size of the venue it’s replacing, an arena of the
same name that was built 61 years ago for the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics—the last
time the city hosted the event. It’s set in the same space as its predecessor near one of
Tokyo’s largest parks and features an all-timber-and-steel framing system that will allow
lush greenery to spill over the sides of the pagoda-inspired structure as it grows in the
next decade.

Kuma’s vision for National Stadium came quickly after nearly a decade of

controversy surrounding its build-out. Zaha Hadid was originally supposed to design the
project as the centerpiece of the Tokyo Olympics, but her proposal proved too costly to
complete in time for the 2020 opening. Instead, Kuma’s stadium, with its open-air
columns and half-covered roof, was both easier and cheaper to build. The design team
sourced over 70,000 cubic feet of larch and cedarwood from all of Japan’s 47
prefectures, and while it was a smart sustainability move, the gesture also drew
criticism over allegations of endangered tropical timber being used.

The National Stadium is one of 42 venues slated for use during the international
sporting event next summer. Eight of the total spaces are completely new and all were
designed by local architects. As the largest stadium in the city, National Stadium will
play host to the opening and closing ceremonies of both the Olympics and Paralympic
Games, as well as some soccer and track and field events.