(ATR) The IOC packs for a big move.
A symbolic groundbreaking at IOC headquarters in Lausanne Tuesday marked the beginning of work on a building for the next hundred years.
The $160 million project will take about four years to complete.
IOC President Thomas Bach led the ceremony that included his predecessor Jacques Rogge, colleagues from the Executive Board and representatives of city and canton governments. Also taking part in the event were about a dozen and a half school children. Their ideas about the future of the Olympics have been recorded and stored in a time capsule to be buried on the headquarters grounds.
In February, IOC staff will relocate to temporary space about 5km east along Lake Geneva in the Lausanne suburb of Pully.
When complete the 18,000 square meter headquarters will house 600 IOC staff under one roof for the first time.
The ultra-modernist design by Danish firm 3XN is meant to be "a physical expression of Olympism through architecture" says an IOC document. The amorphous flowing shape of the structure is meant to resemble the shape of a dove as it lands. The building will cover four main floors with hospitality functions on the ground floor and three levels of office space above. It is to be built to the highest standards of sustainability.
Connecting the floors will be what’s called a "unity staircase" that employs the shape of the five Olympic rings.
The new headquarters will mean the demolition of the current building, which opened nearly 30 years ago, along with the conference center addition that opened in 2008. The historic Chateau de Vidy from the turn of the 20th century, office of the IOC president and staff since 1968, will remain.
The construction comes on the 100th anniversary of Lausanne as the home of the IOC. The headquarters is situated on city-owned land for which the IOC has been granted a lease through 2115.
"Throughout this year, we have celebrated 100 years together," Bach said during the ceremony. "Today, we are looking to the future, the future of the Olympic Movement here in Lausanne.
"What better symbol of our attachment to the Olympic Capital than the construction of a new building?"
Written and reported in Lausanne by Ed Hula.
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