Eco-Friendly Strategy for Gwangju Universiade

Eco Edge

How An Eco-Friendly Strategy Is Winning for Gwangju Universiade

Six years ago, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) announced that Gwangju would host the 2015 Universiade. Having come in second place in its 2013 Universiade bid, Gwangju had been collaborating with other cities in the Jeolla Province to ensure that if Gwangju’s bid succeeded, the City would be able to host with minimal cost and maximum benefit.

Aiming to make the 2015 Gwangju Universiade a memorable event, the Gwangju Summer Universiade Organizing Committee (GUOC) chose the concept EPIC: Ecoversiade, Peace-versiade, IT-versiade and Culture-versiade. The first of these ideas, Ecoversiade, has been central in planning for the Universiade facilities.

Major international sports competitions are notorious for wastefulness: facilities are built at high costs, only to be underused after the event. After last year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the costliest of the newly-built stadiums has hosted no competitive matches this year. GUOC decided early on to limit new construction projects, minimize waste and leave small carbon footprints. Of the 69 facilities that will be used during the Universiade, only four are newly built. The rest are renovated facilities in Gwangju and neighboring cities.

Universiade events will be held throughout the Jeolla Province. According to Chung Dae-kyung, the department Head for the Physical Promotion Team at Gwangju City Hall, prior to the announcement that Gwangju would be hosting the Universiade, GUOC knew that Gwangju did not have all of the necessary facilities and approached neighboring cities about using theirs. Mr. Chung said that facilities outside of Gwangju were chosen in accordance with FISU regulations, which require that venues be within a one-hour drive from athletes’ housing. Rowing events will be held in Chungju; during the rowing competitions, athletes will stay at the Chungju Village rather than at the Athletes’ Village.

In keeping with the Ecoversiade theme, the planning committee did not build new housing for athletes and chose not to utilize temporary construction to prevent material waste. The state-of-the-art Athletes’ Village was built by renovating dilapidated 30-year-old apartment complexes near the World Cup Stadium, which will be the primary venue. After the Universiade, the apartments will be returned to private hands and utilized by Gwangju residents.

Decisions regarding new construction were informed by sustainability concerns. The newly-built venues are those for which there was no sufficient alternative: the Nambu University International Aquatics Center, the Gwangju Women’s University Universiade Gymnasium, the Gwangju International Archery Center and the Gwangju Jinwol International Tennis Court. In the case of the Aquatics Center, there are two other pools of sufficient depth, but they will be used as training venues. For the other venues, available alternatives did not comply with FISU regulations. For example, Mr. Chung explained that the tennis venue needed to have at least 10 courts, which no available venue previously had.

Another major consideration was the potential future use of facilities. The Aquatics Center and the Universiade Gymnasium are both affiliated with universities and will be managed by the universities’ sports programs following the Universiade. The Aquatics Center will also serve as the primary venue for the 18th FINA World Aquatics Championship in 2019.

The Universiade Gymnasium and Aquatics Center are eco-friendly. According to official press releases, the Aquatics Center will receive a Green Building Certification for using geothermal heat to control temperature. The Universiade Gymnasium will consume 26 percent of its energy from renewable sources. The gymnasium is also certified as a barrier-free venue since it is designed to be accessible. As for the accessibility of renovated venues, Mr. Chung said renovating older venues to obtain barrier-free certification would have been costly and inefficient, but existing accessibility structures will be used.

The Korea Times reports that the Universiade budget is 685.7 billion won, far more modest than the budgets of other Korean mega-sports events. Chung is proud that Gwangju avoided costly projects like the ones for previous games hosted by Korea. This is the result of emphasizing sustainability rather than opulence. As Pyeongchang prepares to host the 2018 Olympics, the effective planning of the Universiade facilities could serve as a model.