Rethinking the Game: Exploring the Lifecycle of Olympic Landscapes

Abstract

This thesis proposes a new future for Olympic landscapes. It rethinks what these spaces look like and how they function before, during, and after the games. The project extends the time allotted for host cities to begin preparations. In doing so, we can ameliorate the impact these events have on their respective communities and environments, and find new programmatic opportunities that long outlast the event. It imagines how the town of Lake Placid, which already has a two-time Olympic legacy, might host the third Winter Games. Located in the Adirondack Forest Preserve, this site provides a unique set of constraints that can be used to govern the design for the Winter Games to reduce the footprint of these events moving forward. This thesis explores the possibility of balancing ecological and cultural preservation by setting forth a new standard guiding the production of the Olympics.