In case you hadn’t heard, Vancouver will be hosting a pretty big event in 6 months time. Now, we haven’t come close to seeing all the results of that particular project, but more and more of the venues, celebration sites, and buildings are being completed (or close to), and many are being opened up to the public.

One of those venues, and perhaps one of the most impressive to built, is the Richmond Olympic Oval. This will be the speed skating venue, and is a pretty incredible building of wood and stone and ice.

I had the chance to go and see the venue for the first time last week, and to put it bluntly, I was blown away. I’m a bit of a cynic, and I never expect to be impressed by a mere building, but somehow, the Richmond Oval, much like the recently expanded Vancouver Convention Centre, managed to encapsulate the essence of Canada, and, just maybe, the spirit of the Olympics, in one building.

The fact that it will be re purposed as an all-inclusive community centre just sweetens the deal.

An immense dome, the Richmond Oval appears to have been built with the West Coast Zen aesthetic. The space is big, the ceilings high, but it’s the details that make it. From feature walls of concrete or fir to the tiniest of details in the many public washrooms – square porcelain counters, with sinks that mimic the run-off of water in spring. It’s Canadian, but it’s Asian, it’s classic, but it’s modern, it perfectly reflects Richmond, but it’s so very, very Vancouver.
Just one of many venues being built for the Olympics, the Richmond Oval will be a showcase of Vancouver and Canada, but it’s what happens inside that will show the world what it means to be Canadian. Are you ready for the Olympics? 207 days to go.