Designs for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Village by a trio of Aberdeen architecture students have been shortlisted in an international competition.
The team from RGU have made it to the final stages of the Virtual Design World Cup – which asked students world-wide to imagine their architectural vision for the sporting event.
James Nicol, 23, Sabin Maguregui, 23, and Fajar Rezandi, 24, came up with their own architecture, bridge and city plans as part of the challenge.
Their initial concept was examined by the judging panel in July, and led them on to the final phase of the competition.
The trio included geothermal technology for heating their buildings, as well as a cooling system which utilises water from Tokyo Bay, where the games will take place.
Detailed designs will be submitted this month.
The group’s tutor, Dr Amar Bennadji, has supervised the students throughout the competition.
He said: “The competition has seen the students look at an existing district of Tokyo which has many constraints including bridges, suspended motorways and canals, and think about what they can do to develop it as a sustainable location which will host one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
“The team came up with a concept which aims to unify the village. They have looked at reducing travelling distances, lowering and covering some motorways, creating a high-rise tower bridge on top of a busy transport hub, and creating an iconic accommodation building to host the athletes during the games and which can be used as mixed use after.”
The winners will be announced in November, with a top prize of 300,000yen (about £1,745) up for grabs.
