Father, son design aquatics venues decades apart

A father and son have designed Olympic venues decades apart

Location: Tokyo, Japan

(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) ARCHITECT WHO DESIGNED TOKYO AQUATICS CENTER, PAUL NORITAKA TANGE, SAYING:

"I wanted to tell my father that I had grown enough to do this. I believe we're the only father and son in the world to design the same Olympics venue, and a strong feeling of respect for my father is also part of the reason why I wanted to do it."

Paul Noritaka Tange designed the Aquatics Center for the 2020 Games

His father was revolutionary architect Kenzo Tange

behind the Yoyogi National Gymnasium for the 1964 Games

"My father built a space for everyone to share, whether they are spectators or athletes. So when I designed the Aquatics Center for Tokyo 2020, the original point was to have a space where everyone can gather in one place, and I bore that in mind during the design process."

Tange used principles learned from his father

but is driven by matters of re-use and sustainability

"We've come to a time that instead of thinking about how to reuse the facilities (after the Olympics). It is more important to make clear the final goal first and then think about how to use it during the Olympics and Paralympics. It's no longer just a temporary facility like it used to be. 'Temporary facility' means we build it and tear it down afterwards, and this is not sustainable. I think the Olympics will be more about sustainability in the future."