International Journal of Architectural Research Miranda Kiuri and Sigrid Reiter Archnet-IJAR, Volume 7 - Issue 2 - July 2013 - (102-117) – Regular Section Copyright © 2013 Archnet-IJAR, International Journal of Architectural Research 102 OLYMPIC STADIUM DESIGN: PAST ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES Miranda Kiuri University of Liege – LEMA, Belgium miranda.kiuri@ulg.ac.be Sigrid Reiter University of Liege – LEMA, Belgium sigrid.reiter@ulg.ac.be Abstract This article aims to show how the cultural potential of the Olympic stadium can offer new possibilities for its space and its use in relation to the city. The approach considers the UNESCO WCH and the Granada Convention criteria for highlighting three specific aspects of its design: innovation through architecture and technologies; influence on the urban environment; role as a cultural space and as part of a cultural territory. The article fosters to better understanding of the cultural heritage significance of emblematic stadiums. Keywords: Olympic stadium; innovation; cultural space; architecture of the void. INTRODUCTION Historically, the evolution of the Olympic Games (OG) has influenced the stadium design. The first Olympic stadium was the stadium of Olympia. The Olympian stadium was born as result of the OG, its objectives and values, and the stadium’s space was culturally significant (Kiuri, 2009; Kiuri & Teller, 2012a; UNESCO, 1989). After the renaissance of the Olympic Games during the 19th century, stadium architecture changed rapidly during the 20th century. The Olympic Games played an important role in this evolution (Schmidt, 2002). This evolutionary process concerns the stadium design as space, its architecture and its impact on the surroundings. From an architectural point of view, the stadium evolution was primarily driven by construction techniques and materials, but broadened to affect everything connected with performance in sports, standards of play, safety and security, including managing spectator movement and adapting to contemporary means of communication. The stadium’s space thereby became an increasingly technical area during its development in the modern era (Kiuri & Teller, 2012a). From an urban planning point of view, the impact of the Olympic Games on the host city has grown. Since 1960, the number of urban areas, infrastructures and facilities included in the Olympic territory’s perimeter has increased. This recent period has primarily been characterised by stadiums becoming increasingly sophisticated. The aims of this paper are to address the design evolution of the Olympic stadium and its relationship with the city at large to better define its cultural heritage significance. This article will study the evolution of the Olympic stadiums and the cultural aspects of the stadium space today. This article aims to show how the cultural potential of the Olympic stadium can offer new possibilities for its space and its use in relation to the city. Our method is based on applying the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage architectural criteria to Olympic stadiums. Studying the cultural criteria for Olympic stadiums, our approach also considers the Granada Convention and the importance of the significance of spaces as culturally meaningful territory in accordance with this Declaration (CE, 1985). The objective is to highlight three specific aspects of stadium design: innovation through architecture and new technologies, influence on the urban environment, role as a cultural space