CultureNOW - 1984 Olympics: The Jerde Partnership and Sussman/Prejza

1984 Olympics

Architect
The Jerde Partnership

Graphic Designer
Sussman/Prejza

Dates

Constructed, 1984

Awards

Certificate of Commendation, Board of Supervisors, County of Los Angeles 1984
Special Award for Excellence in the Allied Arts, American Institute of Architects, California Council 1984
Honor Award, American Institute of Architects 1985
Special Citation, American Institute of Graphic Arts 1985

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Description

The Jerde Partnership

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The 1984 Olympics presented a unique challenge in experience architecture for Jerde to integrate 130 venues scattered across Southern California into a cohesive forum for the Games. And to do it with a budget of $10 million, a fraction of the design budgets for past Olympics. The result was a resounding success, achieving a unified look and feel for the games. And, for the first time since 1936, producing a profit of $215 million.

When Los Angeles bid to host the 1984 Olympics, there were no competing cities. The terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the financial disaster of the 1976 Montreal Games, and the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics left nobody willing to take the risks. Los Angeles itself was so afraid of losing money, city council passed a resolution preventing the use of municipal funds. So, instead of the typical governmental approach, business people managed the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. The committee sought a no-frills approach using as many existing facilities as possible with a $10 million design budget for everything from tickets and judges' blazers, to information booths and venues.

Jerde's design for the 1984 Olympics, though criticized at the time, became a model for future Olympic designs. It also established a new design principle that Jerde would use in future projects: co-creativity. To achieve the design for the Olympics with a limited time and budget, Jerde spearheaded a 30-member team of artists, architects and designers and armed each member with a design kit of parts. Each member of the team put a unique stamp on 75 Olympic sports and arts festival venues, 10 freeway systems, 30 boulevards, 12 transportation centers and three Olympic villages. The look and style - bold graphics, signs, tenting and banners in a palette of vivid colors - successfully expressed the festive and international qualities of the Olympics. The design carried through every element: from sporting facilities as large as the Rose Bowl to playing-field equipment, printed programs, highway signs, and even concessionaire accessories. For two weeks, these temporary kits united scattered stadiums, venues, campuses, freeways, and build-ings, creating a sense of an L.A. Olympic community that was televised to half the world’s population. And more importantly, it created an experience that appealed to locals as well as visitors.

The Jerde Partnership

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Location

3911 S. Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90037
United States

The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics were held at over 75 venues. The USC Coliseum was one of the many venues.

Nearby Items

The Oculus and California Gate		0.4 miles
California Science Center		0.4 miles
SKETCH Foundation Air and Space Exhibits		0.5 miles
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum		0.5 miles
Exposition Park Rose Garden		0.5 miles
On Saturdays		0.6 miles
Hoffman Hall of Business Administration ( Hoffman Hall )		0.7 miles