Construction on the Olympic Village for the Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) Olympic and Paralympic Games began in early 2023. The project is expected to be completed by mid-2028, just in time for the Games.
The Village is being built to accommodate an estimated 15,000 athletes competing in the Olympics and 8,000 in the Paralympics. The athletes, from more than 200 nations, will be participating in 35 sports.
The 2028 Olympic Games are scheduled for July 21 to August 6, 2028. The Paralympic Games will take place from August 18 to September 3.
LA28 will be the third time Los Angeles will host the Olympics. The first time was in 1932. The second time was 1984.
Multi-purpose venues
The Olympic Village provides functional, efficient, and sustainable housing and facilities built specifically for the Games. It is designed to provide a comfortable and convenient living environment for athletes, coaches, and officials during the Games.
The Village will have some 3,000 residential units, including apartments, dormitories, townhouses, and single-family homes. There will be dining halls and restaurants, medical facilities, and transportation services. Security measures will be in place to ensure the safety and security of residents.
Construction planning
The construction plans for the Olympic Village involve building temporary housing units and facilities in various parts of Los Angeles. The project includes the construction of new facilities, along with upgrades to existing ones.
Housing units are being designed with sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and comfort in mind. In addition, there is a focus on creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for the residents.
The plans are being carefully coordinated to meet the specific needs of the Olympic Games while minimizing the impact on the surrounding communities.
In June 2024, the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games updated its venue plan to use fewer temporary venues and assign more sports to existing stadiums. The intent is to make the Games more sustainable and provide financial and operational benefits.
This approach reflects a broader trend in Olympic planning, emphasizing the use of existing infrastructure to create a more sustainable and economically viable event.
Rather than being centralized in one location, the Olympic Village will be spread across different areas of the city, including the Harbor area of Los Angeles, near the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Waterfront, the Los Angeles Convention Center, and Dodger Stadium. The site covers approximately 298 acres of land, including a former rail yard.
This decentralized model is also intended to highlight the diversity and culture of Los Angeles.
Importance of sustainability
The Olympic Village is prioritizing the incorporation of sustainable building practices and green spaces to create a vibrant and environmentally friendly community, the Village will have a blend of residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.
Among them the sustainable features being incorporated into the Village:
- Energy-efficient buildings with solar panels.
- Solar panels on rooftops to generate electricity.
- Green roofs, rooftop gardens, and walls to reduce the urban heat island effect – an occurrence where cities experience higher air temperatures than the surrounding countryside. Green roofs remove heat from the air and reduce temperatures of the roof surface and surrounding air.
- Rainwater harvesting systems to reduce water usage.
- Recyclable materials used in construction.
- The use of locally sourced materials where possible.
Another goal is to attain LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. The world’s most widely used green building rating system, it provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. The timeline for the completion of all construction on the Olympic Village:
- Phase 1 – Site preparation and infrastructure development, 2020 to 2022.
- Phase 2 – Housing construction, 2022 to 2025.
- Phase 3 – Finalization of the remaining construction work, 2025 to 2028.
Following the Games
After the conclusion of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the intent is to repurpose the Olympic Village. Plans are to reuse the structures built for the Olympics to convert them into housing, commercial spaces, offices, and other structures to benefit the community long after the Games are over.
It should be noted that plans can change often. The actual repurposing will depend on future developments and decisions made by the stakeholders involved.
Sources used in this article: The Architect's Newspaper, LA 2028, Los Angeles Business Journal, NBC Los Angeles, Olympics.com, PBS SoCal, SwimSwam.
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