2016 Chicago Olympic Bid-Meeting with the Execs.

Categories: 2016, olympics, POWERleap, Prudential Plaza

Jun 12, 2008 03:14 pm 1 Comment

As many may know, Chicago is in the running for the 2016 Olympic bid. We are currently ranked 3rd after Tokyo and Madrid (but please allow me to remind you that London did win the 2012 bid from a 3rd place rank- possible victory? Absolutely!). Unique to Chicago's plans is the goal to be the most sustainable and green Olympics to date. They also have a deep dedication to create a legacy from the games and encourage interaction and engagement from all the surrounding hubs of the city.

Simply put, the summer Olympics are the events of the decade. They are known to be opportunities to bring people together, to revitalize cities, to create legacy, and to celebrate victory.
Last month I presented POWERleap with a team from an alternative design school here in Chicago called Archeworks. The team was advocating the “Social Olympiad” whom they determined was the final thread to connect citizens of the city and visitors of the games across Chicago to create a sustaining legacy for the Olympics. Their project included proposed ideas for bringing people together. In stepped the POWERleapers. The team included POWERleap and myself in their proposal as a way to create community through the collective act of generating electricity with our body’s energy. As a result I was introduced to a gentleman on the 2016 Olympic Committee.

After much correspondence and changing-of-the-date, POWERleap was slated to meet last week, Thursday June 5. As a dedicated biker, I biked downtown in 90-degree weather and 70% humidity, changed in the Panda Express in the basement of this 44-story building, then checked in with security.

On the 15th floor, I met two top executives who are working part time in the 2016 office on the Environmental Plans for the games. The meeting was downtown in the One Prudential Plaza building. Their office, on the fifteenth floor, had a spectacular view of downtown, Millennium Park (former sponsor of a POWERleap installation), and Lake Michigan (over which I gaze to my home and alma matter). It was a perfect birds eye view on the city plan I had been admiring in the lobby.

The daunting setting and build-up of the meeting ended up being rather casual. I first brought them up to speed on the POWERleap history, technical details, current objectives, and future plans, dreams, and aspirations. We then went on to discuss the possibilities of integrating POWERleap technology into the new built infrastructures that the games will require.

As the Olympics will require an excessive amount of energy to create everything up to the day of the events, they will also require an immense amount of energy to sustain over the course of the games. This may be a problem to some; to me this is an open door to design a solution.

MORE PEOPLE = MORE ENERGY

I proposed POWERleap to be integrated into various parts of the new Olympic parks, sports stadiums, city sidewalks, public recreational spaces- all these are places where millions of people will be funneled in and out of multiple times on a daily basis for 20+ days.

We sat in the corner office overlooking the panoramic of the city and discussed all these fine details and big picture possibilities for an hour and a half. I even got to express my creativity and breadth through discussing other potential technologies I’ve conceptualized for untapped energy from specific Olympic events.

Today, we are under discussion of a pilot prototype to help promote the Chicago 2016 bid and POWERleap together to help us communicate our dedication to sustainability and generate a following!

Ill keep you updated on the progress!