Olympic Realities

Olympic sports facilities are places that get a great amount of attention for a short period of time. Moreover, media attention has rapidly increased in recent years, which reinforces the effect of temporary use even more. But what happens to the elaborately planned and expensive sports venues in the aftermath of the games?

Photographer Bruno Helbling followed the fate of six venues with his camera: Athens (1896, 2004), Berlin (1936), Sarajevo (1998), Torino (2006), Beijing (2008), and Sochi (2014). His images are neither judgmental nor disavowing: He offers the viewer an objective yet aesthetically captivating look at what now awaits visitors to the respective sites. The variety of possible subsequent uses shown here – whether planned or unplanned – is both insightful and educational. At the same time, it demonstrates the effectiveness of architecture in an environment that is beyond the reaches of planning control. A book that is both poetic and inspiring.

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