Everything Is Architecture, and We Are All Architects #6—Olympic Gold

Every four years, a global event celebrates the peak of physical abilities alongside architectural achievements—the Olympics. In this meeting, we will discuss the outstanding Olympics of recent decades and the role of the architects of the Olympic villages, who aim to focus on showcasing the capabilities of the human body along with the architectural, economic, and technological strengths of the host country—and equally important, their unique capabilities.

In the evening, we will explore the icons that won gold medals, those that held great promise but ultimately fell short, and those relegated to the third division. We will inquire how national pride is fostered when the architects themselves do not reside in the host country, and we will evaluate the heavy toll endured by the everyday people, workers, and builders who, unlike athletes and politicians, do not bask in the spotlight. We will also discuss "the day after"—the abandoned buildings, economic debts, and deserted Olympic villages—while presenting various ways that host countries have addressed these challenges.

Host: Hila Shemer

Content Development: Moran Navon

This meeting is part of the lecture series “Everything Is Architecture, and We Are All Architects,” held at Café Lev in Liebling Haus. During this series, we will examine contemporary architecture in our regions and worldwide through the lenses of politics, gender, economics, globalization, crisis, war, and peace. We will explore how the architectural discipline can drive change—from urban environments and public buildings to the most intimate spaces—our private homes. By utilizing tools from both within and beyond the field of architecture, we will envision a possible future.

*Participants can register for a single meeting. The content of each meeting is independent of the others.

Credit: Peter23, under license of licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.