Create history. Preserve history. CannonDesign’s exciting connections to the Winter Olympics
The 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina, Italy, are here and there is clear excitement building.
Every two years, the Games are one of my favorite two-week stretches. The competition, the remarkable athlete stories, there’s nothing like it.
As an architect with a deep passion for sports, there’s also nothing like designing a venue for Olympic competition. CannonDesign has been fortunate enough to design multiple venues with Olympic legacies: the Richmond Olympic Oval for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and then the renovation of the iconic Lake Placid Olympic Center (home to the 1980 Winter Games and “Miracle on Ice” hockey game).
These distinct design projects show our ability to leverage architecture to create sports history and preserve it.
Create history: Richmond Olympic Oval
Widely accepted as the signature venue of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, the Richmond Olympic Oval is the first Olympic speed-skating facility ever designed for long-term use.
Before the Oval, indoor long-track facilities were built solely to host the Games and then faced significant revenue and operations challenges post-Games because of their size.
The Richmond Olympic Oval marked a new path forward as it went on to spur the creation of a new urban waterfront neighborhood in Richmond, British Columbia that is still utilized as a recreation, sport and community center today.
The building also set new standards in multi-sport convertibility and sustainability (it features one of the largest wood roof spans in the world, made of lumber from pine beetle-killed forests). In 2015, the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) recognized the Oval as the only North American facility to receive its All-Time Award, a prestigious honor bestowed upon the world’s best sports facilities every half century.
The Oval did more than just set new architectural precedents. It also served as an epicenter for remarkable athletic achievements. Here are just some of the feats accomplished beneath its beautiful wood roof.
- The Canadian Women’s 3000m team and Christine Nesbitt (Canada - 1000m) earned gold medals in their home country.
- Sven Kramer (Netherlands) set an Olympic Record in the Men’s 5,000 M with a time of 6:14.60.
- The Canadians set a new Olympic Record of 3:39.95 in the Men’s Team Pursuit event.
- Haralds Silvos (Latvia) became the first athlete to compete in both short track and long track speed skating on the same day.
Preserve history: Lake Placid Olympic Center
Lake Placid, NY is home to countless sports memories, but the “Miracle on Ice” hockey game that took place during the 1980 Winter Games and saw the U.S. team defeat the heavily-favored Soviet Union stands out as its defining event.
Most who followed the game live can still remember exactly where they were. Younger generations have come to understand the game’s significance through movies and recaps. It is the sports moment that coined Al Michaels’ unforgettable, “Do you believe in miracles, yes!.”
Given all the history in Lake Placid, the opportunity to help the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) rejuvenate the Olympic Center and other venues to prepare it to host the 2023 FISU World University Games was equally memorable for our design team.
Ultimately, our team worked on the following with ORDA:
- Renovations to the Olympic Center which includes the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena (the “Miracle on Ice” rink), the 1932 Jack Shea Arena, the James C. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval and public spaces including a signature restaurant that looks upon Whiteface Mountain and other iconic competition venues.
- Specific to the Olympic Center, our work focused on reprogramming its main entry, renovating and upgrading spectator seating and athlete support spaces and improving the overall game day experience. We also renovated office space in the connected “link” building and introduced a monumental stair and glass elevator.
- Our team helped with early concept and schematic design for the 45,000-square-feet Mt. Van Hoevenberg Mountain Pass Lodge, a mixed-use facility that includes areas for sports like the biathlon, bobsled, cross-country skiing and more.
The Olympics are a spectacle like no other – world-class athletes, iconic venues, pure adrenaline and passion, making sports history in real time – it’s as good as it gets.
And every time the Olympics come around, I think back to those experiences with the Richmond Olympic Oval and Lake Placid. The Games are uniquely meaningful in sports; and it’s been an honor to contribute to their legacy.
