OlymPicks: New Winter Olympic Museum Design Revealed, Russia Banned From 2022

Joey Knotts, Contributing Editor | Dec 11, 2019 9:47 am | Add a comment | 255 reads

In OlymPicks, we highlight news, gossip, and developments regarding the buildup to Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics.

Russia banned from next two Olympic Games

Following a damning recommendation from a review committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) executive committee voted to ban Russians from entering their flag in all major sporting events for the next four years, including both the Tokyo and Beijing Olympics. Russian athletes will still be able to compete in the games as neutrals, or 'Olympic Athletes from Russia'. The ruling reflects the view that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency has been allowing dirty athletes to slide through clean.

According to BBC News, Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev blamed the ruling on what he calls “Chronic Russian Hysteria.” The International Olympic Committee, on the other hand, said it supports WADA’s decision.

Russia will also be barred from the 2022 World Cup, but not from the Euro 2020 tournament, which Russia will host in St. Petersburg.

2022 Olympic museum design revealed

Despite all of the Olympic hype of the 2008 games, the museum that commemorated those games amounted to little more than a couple of exhibits in front of the Olympic Stadium, which was eventually turned into an intricate excuse for a skywalk. Beijing says that Zhangjiakou, where many of the skiing events will be held, will be a different story. Two years ahead of the 2022 winter games, Dutch architecture firm Maison H has revealed its plans for a huge museum building that will be an attraction in its own right.

This grand structure, whose curvature is apparent from any viewing angle, will be connected to other Olympic sites such as the Mountain Leisure Center and the Olympic Hall of Fame via cable car, thus solidifying the feeling of a day at the slopes.

It’s not yet clear what curious visitors will be treated to once inside the museum (a deep analysis of the Winter Olympic mascots, perhaps), but the Maison H project also includes a nearby VR experience center and a youth Olympic training center.

Sounds like the 2022 Olympics will be leaving quite the mark in the region. Find more renderings of the museum via Design Boom here.

Olympic ski ramp gets its first test run

At 60 meters tall, the Shougang ski ramp stands at nearly half the height to the abandoned cooling stacks that provide its eerily industrial background. In contrast to the stacks, the ramp is modern and colorful, especially at night when its bright shining lights are reflected in the lake to its side.

The ramp will make its debut this week at the Air + Style World Cup from Dec 12 to 14. Dating back to 1994, the event is one of the longest-running snowboarding competitions and has had a stop in Beijing every year since 2010 ( though you wouldn't know so from the official website, which is sorely lacking in specifics).