As part of bringing the Asian Games back to Indonesia after nearly 60 years, and carrying their legacy forward, Boy Bhirawa undertook the renovation of Istana Olahraga ("Istora"), a stadium first used for badminton tournaments in 1961. The challenge was to balance the heritage requirements of this iconic structure with the latest Olympic-style standards (original timber benching, for example, has been replaced by individual seats). The main practical renovation test lay in fulfilling the new requirements for a badminton venue regarding standards of lighting and ventilation, and additional rooms for press and television crews. Ventilation issues, in particular, prompted a radical redesign in order to avoid turbulence, with returned air ingeniously ducted beneath the stadium’s trademark raked seating. The need for additional rooms for supporting facilities was met by demolishing additions from a previous 1990 restoration and creating new structures behind and to the side of the original building.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
