The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympics Games Organising Committee recently invited media persons to observe lifting of a large roof of Olympic Gymnastic Centre, which will be the venue for gymnastics.
Shimizu Corporation is involved in the architecture of the building and many overseas media organisations attended the event to observe the innovative Japanese technical architecture.
The lift-up method of construction is adopted by the Olympic Gymnastic Centre for the purpose of shortening construction time and safety management. A huge wooden arch, 70 metres in width and 200 tons in weight was slowly lifted up to 30 metres height in over five hours.
Masamichi Nagata, Shimizu Corporation, said, "The current Olympic facilities under construction mostly use wooden and steel frame structures, but this structure is all constructed by wood. I think this is one of the major characteristics. Since it is a pure wooden arch space, fire is one of the biggest hazards. We've already done a lot of fire tests and all of the seats in the auditorium are also made of wood. But we have proven with tests that even if something burned on chairs, the fire will not spread. We can confidently say that we have a solid fire safety measure."
One of the best features of the stadium is that it will include the largest amount of wood used in Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games' facilities. In addition, all the wood used in the construction is made in Japan.
The centre's distinctive roof will be the world's largest wooden roof. The stadium itself is designed similar to Japanese old wood building.
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To support the stadium's large roof, an arched beam structure has been adopted incorporating the principle of bow with wooden arch and iron auxiliary wire cable.
Yoshihiro Hosokawa, Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said, "The construction of this site achieved halfway progressed in just one year. I am very thankful because it would have never been done without high technology of Shimizu Corporation. We are also preparing an organising committee to deliver safety and security for people of all countries in the world. For the competition venue here, a lot of domestic wood is being used in the construction process. We would like to promote Japanese wooden building culture to many people from overseas."
Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games are about two years away and thanks to the high technology of Japanese building, many facilities are starting to take shape.