Master Plan for 2016 Rio Olympic Park Announced

AECOM has been unveiled as the winning firm in the international competition for the design of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Park master plan.

The UK-based technical and management support services company was also responsible for the master plan for London’s Olympic Park for the 2012 Games. A seven-member jury – consisting of representatives of Rio City Hall, the International Union of Architects, Brazil’s Architects Institute, the Rio 2016 Games Organizing Committee and the Federal Government – sifted through 60 applicants from 18 countries.

Design projects for each one of the venues to be built in the park, whether permanent or temporary, will be chosen through subsequent competitions, while a design firm for the Games’ golf course will also be selected through such an approach. AECOM’s master plan outlines ‘Games mode’ and ‘Legacy mode’ overviews, with conservation of the site’s environmental features and integration with municipal projects taken into account.

The 2016 Olympic Park will host competitions for 10 Olympic sports – basketball, judo, taekwondo, wrestling, handball, hockey, tennis, cycling, aquatics and gymnastics – as well as 11 Paralympic sports. The Main Press Centre and the International Broadcasting Centre, where some 20,000 accredited journalists will work during the Games, will also be built at the site. The urban master plan frees up at least 60% of the Olympic Park area for future developments.

Carlos Arthur Nuzman, president of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, said: “This was yet another step taken towards building the Rio 2016 Games legacy. The Olympic Park legacy for Brazilian sports will be a training center modeled after the successful experiences of the world’s greatest sporting powers.”