Barra Olympic Park, heart of the Rio 2016 Games, starts rising out of the ground
After earthworks and installation of underground infrastructure, venues that will host more than 20 sports are starting to take shape
Work continues on the IBC, from where television images of the Rio 2016 Games will be beamed (Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)
Barra Olympic Park, which will be the heart of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is beginning to rise out of the ground. As the earthworks, foundation construction and installation of underground infrastructure – such as water, gas, electricity and drainage networks – draw to a close, the first structures are beginning to take shape (see photos below).
“The Olympic Park works are gathering speed,” said Alexandre Techima, Rio 2016’s Infrastructure Integration Director. “All the venue foundation works have been started and the constructors are meeting the scheduled targets. The construction will become more visible as the metal structures of the floor levels and roofs are mounted, as is the case with the IBC, where this is already happening, and Olympic Halls 1, 2 and 3, where this will be begin in August.”
Barra Olympic Park’s nine venues will host more than 20 sports during the Rio 2016 Games (Photo: Municipal Olympic Company)
Work on the foundations and pillars of the three Olympic Halls, which will form part of the Olympic Training Centre after the Games, are in the final phase, with the walls and first levels of the third hall already under construction.
Works on the Olympic Tennis Centre, Rio Olympic Velodrome, Olympic Hall 4 and the Olympic Aquatics Stadium are moving towards the final stages of foundation construction, while the first metallic stakes and pillars are being installed. This map shows which sports will be in which venues.
At the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) site, where the foundation works and stake and block installation are in the final phases, work has begun on concreting the first floor and mounting the metallic structure of the second floor. At the Main Media Centre (MPC) site, containment work has been finished and foundations are close to completion.
Construction works at the Barra Olympic Park, which comprise many different projects, are scheduled to be completed between the second quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016.
See how Barra Olympic Park is starting to take shape in the photo gallery below:
