Unlike previous years, when “nightclub” style recreational facilities provided for the athletes were met with generally low attendance, organizers opted for a unique “living room” approach. Collaborating with Waddell and Conder, we brought a fun, contemporary space out of a historic building in the heart of the Athletes’ Village complex, in downtown Vancouver. The “Salt Building”, on the South side of False Creek, was a character warehouse, restored and reborn as hub of the visiting athletes’ community life.
In use for the duration of Olympics, the space was very loosely divided into “rooms”, with draped rope dividers hanging from huge aluminum discs, high above. Custom light fixtures up to 10’ high were hung over conversational groupings and game tables, alongside a “virtual campfire” as the space’s centerpiece. Most of the furniture was 3DS-made, including a number of comfortable circular seating areas and ottomans.