In 1999, when Turin, Italy, was chosen to host the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, observers attributed the International Olympic Committee’s selection over favored Sion, Switzerland, to Turin’s million-person population and its close proximity to the Western Alps.
Then there was the city’s promise of manmade wonders: 2.6 billion euros in government investment that included the construction of new sporting venues and hotels in and around the Piemonte city. In the urban core, those projects included a 2,500-bed Olympic Village designed by a variety of European architects; the Palasport Olimpico, a stadium designed by Arata Isozaki with Pier Paolo Maggiora; and Lingotto Oval, a speed skating arena designed by HOKSVE, Studio Zoppini Associati, and Buro Happold. The city’s grand plan also called for renovating two existing sporting venues: the mid-century Palavela and the Deco-era Stadio Comunale, which had closed in 1990.
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