NL28 Olympic fire

Exhibition at NAI Rotterdam (Gallery 1): 31 may 2008 - 21 september 2008 What would it mean to the Netherlands if we were to organise the Olympic Games in 2028? How do you ensure that the stadiums which can only be used for the Games can still have a proper function afterwards? How do you organise the infrastructure and mobility for the Games? Do you combine all the functions in a single building, or do you spread the Games throughout the country? One thing is certain: the Olympic Games will set the Netherlands in motion. The NAI, in collaboration with the Netherlands Olympic Committee*Netherlands Sport Federation (NOC*NSF), the Berlage Institute, Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and the MVRDV firm of architects, presents ‘NL28 Olympic Fire’, an exhibition in which scale models, film, debate and theatre help visitors to imagine that the Netherlands is organising the Olympic Games in 2028, a century after the Games in Amsterdam. The NAI starts the countdown! Sports climate In 2005 NOC*NSF launched a working group with representatives from the worlds of sport, government, industry and commerce, and science. The aim of this working group is to create an Olympic sports climate that may result in proposing the Netherlands as a candidate for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028. The NAI looks ahead and asks itself what the consequences would be for the Netherlands if the Games were actually to be organised here in 2028. Stadium of the future The Olympic Games are important on many fronts: sport, the economy, city marketing, urban development, and even regional and national development. They can strengthen the identity of a country and put major planning problems on the agenda or solve them. The NAI zooms in on the spatial agenda of the Netherlands. Students from the Academy of Architecture Rotterdam and the Berlage Institute, in collaboration with the MVRDV firm of architects in Rotterdam, investigated the feasibility and the spatial chances of the 2028 Olympic Games in the Netherlands. They linked such themes as climate change, water management and energy production in various ways with solutions for stadiums, infrastructure and accommodation for athletes. The studies resulted in different scenarios for the Olympic Games in the Netherlands in 2028. The NAI presents the scenarios with film, animation, theatre and debate and displays the scale models of Olympic stadiums of the future. The programme of activities will appear in due course on www.nai.nl. 1928-2028 The scenarios for 2028 are presented against a historical timeline which gives an impression of the impact that the Games have had on previous host cities such as Montreal, Los Angeles, Sydney and Beijing. This survey presents the evolution of the Olympic Games in logos, posters, medals, stadiums and Olympic villages over the years. 1928 is a special year, because it was in that year that the Olympic Games were organised in Amsterdam. The architect of the Olympic Stadium, Jan Wils, won a gold medal for architecture at the 1928 Games. The NAI holds the archive of this architect. Publication The exhibition will be accompanied by the publication 'Olympic Fire - Future Games'. This book is the result of the studies on the feasibility, visualisation and possible argumentation of the (spatial) program of the Olympic Games in the Netherlands in 2028. The book is published by NAI Publishers. Website