*Japanese architect Arata Isozaki delivered this text about Zaha’s New National Stadium of Japan to news media on November 5 2014. Architecturephoto.net intoroduces all text by Isozaki.

Rethinking the New National Stadium of Japan by Zaha Hadid
Arata Isozaki

Two years ago, I felt that the Zaha Hadid proposal chosen through an international competition was a design that presented an excellent image of a 21st century urban architecture, calling to mind the sense of speed of sports competitions. As a resident of Tokyo, I supported the proposal.

However, when I saw the revised proposal that has been presented in detail at the Zaha Hadid exhibition (Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery), I was shocked to see that the dynamism present in the original had gone. What remains is a dull, slow form, like a turtle waiting for Japan to sink so that it can swim away. The sight left me in despair. If the stadium gets built the way it is, Tokyo will surely be burdened with a gigantic white elephant.

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