Populous to design Olympic stadium in Russia

The sports facility designers, Populous (formerly HOK Sports) has been selected to design the 40,000-seat main stadium for the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic games in Sochi, Russia. The design’s sweeping form—somewhat reminiscent of the Beijing Olympic’s “Water Cube”—responds to “both its coastal location and mountainous backdrop, whilst its crystalline skin engages with its surroundings by day,” says Populous, designers also of the main stadium for the London 2012 Olympic games.