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Aug. 9, 2008

Innovista design firm Sasaki creates Olympic master plan

Sasaki Associates, the Boston-based firm that designed the Innovista master plan, also has made its mark on the 2008 Beijing Olympics' most visible area.

Sasaki won first place in an international competition to create a master plan for the Olympic Green, the Games' central site and home to the key athletics venues.

"Sasaki’s proposal is deeply connected to an environmental ideal that has its beginnings in the myth and legends of ancient China, linked to the present day in recognizing the imperative of sustainable development," according to the firm's Web site.

The site is made up of three elements: The Forest Park and its extension southward; the Cultural Axis, the northward extension and conclusion of the great imperial axis; and The Olympic Axis, linking the Asian Games site with the National Stadium.

Much of Sasaki's plan will be implemented after the Olympics, creating a dynamic mixed-use district that will continue to serve Beijing.

The Innovista master plan has previously been honored with two prestigious awards. The Congress for the New Urbanism named the plan a 2007 Charter Award winner in the Neighborhood, District, and Corridor category -- one of 20 winners from 130 entrants.

The Boston Society of Landscape Architects also recognized Sasaki and Innovista in 2007 with its Honor Award for Landscape Analysis and Planning -- one of only two to win the Honor Award, the highest available.

Sasaki also has designed a master plan for the University of South Carolina's athletics facilities that would create an athletics village with a similar aesthetic to the University's historic original campus, the Horseshoe.

Related Links

Sasaki Associates

Sasaki wins two awards for Innovista master plan

South Carolina's athletics master plan

South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley, 12 athletes compete in Beijing