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The 2024 Summer Olympic Games, officially branded as “Paris 2024,” began on July 26 and
will continue until August 11. Paris 2024 is setting a new precedent by showcasing the
innovative use of hardwood in the Olympic Games.
Paris 2024 wants to make sustainability one of its key values both in design and legacy. This is evident in the host city’s event preparation, climate goals, and choices in architecture and construction. The Summer Games committed to -30% less CO2 emissions compared to London 2012 and -50% less CO2 emissions for buildings and constructions. Unlike previous Games, 95% of the venues for Paris 2024 will be preexisting structures or new builds that use sustainable materials or may be recycled after the event. Initiatives such as France Bois 2024 and Green building regulations like RE2020 played a key role in the Summer Games iconic eco-designed structures. The France Bois 2024 initiative was launched to promote, raise awareness, provide training, and encourage construction stakeholders to use wood-based materials as an essential way to achieve the carbon objectives of the Olympic Games and the Paris Agreement. The initiative aims to unify the French timber industry and contribute to carbon emissions reduction and job creation while highlighting the ecological advantages of the material. RE2020 is a French law enforcing rules on all new buildings to decarbonize the building sector. Paris 2024 event organizers are taking action and demonstrating that reducing carbon in the building sector will require retrofitting existing structures and using more wood in new construction.
Photo: The Architect's Newspaper
France also aims to source 50% of its construction timber from domestic forests. One of the architectural centerpieces of the Summer Games is the new Olympic Aquatics Center, which is built almost entirely from wood (2,800 cubic meters), 30-40% of which is domestically sourced. The wood used is a combination of softwood and hardwood to meet structural and aesthetic specifications.
Other construction projects, like the Olympic Village, will feature reusable eco-designs. All village buildings under eight floors are built with wood and glass, and all energy is sustainably sourced from renewables or heat pumps. After housing the athletes during the Games, the village will serve the local neighborhood as a new residential district. The country’s Minister of Cities and Housing, Julien Denormandie, described the complex as being created entirely from timber, which served as a source of inspiration. Several of the arenas will also prominently feature wood. The Porte de la Chapelle Arena is an eco-design venue built with recycled aluminum façade around a wooden structure. The venue will host a variety of sports during the games, and when they conclude, it will become the new home of Paris Basketball. This is not always the case, as shown in previous Olympic Games, where all the temporarily constructed arenas and their components were available for purchase. The Grand Palais Éphémère, located close to the base of the Eiffel Tower, which prominently features wood, will host Olympic judo, wrestling, wheelchair rugby, and para judo. The repurposed venue was refitted with a massive glue-laminated timber superstructure, including 1500 cubic meters of PEFC-certified European spruce.
Photo: Arch Daily
Beyond using wood to meet climate targets, accomplish aesthetically pleasing eco-designs, and provide human health benefits, some sports require wood for optimal performance and safety. Arenas and sports that require wood include Bercy Arena (Basketball), Pierre Mauroy Stadium (Basketball, Handball), South Paris Arena (Volleyball), Porte de la Chapelle Arena (Badminton), and Quintin-En-Yvelines Velodrome (Track Cycling). Each sport has its own set of rules and regulations for wood specifications. Badminton, for example, is played on synthetic mats that are laid on wooden floors. It is a requirement from the international standard facilities to have a wooden sprung floor or equivalent subfloor for the Badminton Court Mats.
Does using more wood in the Olympics mean global deforestation and loss of local forests that we enjoy for wanderlust and recreation? The short answer is no when wood comes from sustainably managed forests. The commitment to using sustainably certified wood is also guided by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) policies and guidance on sustainable sourcing, which call for zero deforestation and prohibit using timber from converting forests that will become plantations for crops like palm oil.
This approach for Paris 2024 can be applied in the United States and future Olympics. Combining innovative and traditional uses of wood may inspire future host cities and governmental regulations. Besides showcasing some of the best athletes in the world, Paris 2024 performs on a different level– demonstrating how changing policy regulations in the construction industry have cascading effects on architects, materials manufacturers, bio-based material producers, building firms, sports, and other sectors– and their collective effort to minimize impacts to the environment.