400 Mobile Homes In An Alpine Valley
Cortina D’ampezzo(Italy): Winter Olympians who sign up to stay at Cortina d’Ampezzo’s Athletes Village shouldn’t expect luxurious accommodations or snuggling up next to a warm fire after a long day on the mountain.
The temporary Village, which will host nearly 1,400 athletes and other team members at the February 6-22 Milan Cortina Games, consists of 377 rental mobile homes arranged closely together on a moist valley floor.
The Associated Press was the first international media outlet granted permission for an early look at the facility, located in an unpopulated area about 10 minutes by car or 1 hour on foot north of Cortina city centre.
The rooms are plain and simple. However, close contact with the Dolomites is provided in exchange for amenities.
“It is located in a very quiet area of Cortina, where you have the opportunity to hear the sounds of the mountains, isolate yourself if you wish, concentrate if you wish, or go out for a pleasant exercise,” said Fabio Saldini, the Italian government commissioner who oversees the games’ infrastructure.
“The beauty of such a Village lies in the fact that everything will be removed afterwards. Nothing is permanent; the environment will not return to its former state, but will be improved,” added Saldini. “This is a makeshift village but with high design.”
Providing accommodation for athletes is one of the most important responsibilities of Olympic organizers. This is particularly difficult for the geographically dispersed Milan Cortina Games. Cortina’s caravan park is one of the two main Olympic villages, the other being in Milan.
According to Norwegian news agency NTB, Norway, the center of winter sports, chose to host its skiers in hotels rather than official Olympic villages.
Many other countries, such as the United States and Germany, and host Italy have said their athletes will stay in the villages, but Alps superstars Lindsey Vonn or Mikaela Shiffrin are unlikely to stay at the mobile home park in Cortina.
Cortina will host women’s Alpine skiing, curling, bobsled, luge and Skeleton competitions during the games. The village will also be an indispensable part of the Paralympic Games to be held between 6-15 March.
“Most of the nations will use the Village both for the living part and, above all, for common areas such as the gym,” Saldini said. “Even those who stay outside the village will come here.”
Open to the elements Each caravan is divided into two rooms, with a maximum of two people in each room. Each room has its own bathroom and shower. However, when you open the caravan door, athletes may encounter a strong wind every morning or unforgettable images of the sun shining and reflecting off the jagged mountain peaks.
The best clothing for walking to the large cafeteria for breakfast may be warm boots, not slippers. Anyone staying in caravans near the outskirts of the 1.4-kilometer (about mile-long) Village will be able to reach common areas within a 10-minute walk, including a gym, game room, offices, recreation areas and laundry.
During the AP’s visit in late November, a blizzard created a blizzard with no permanent buildings to block the wind.
In February, more sunlight comes to the region. The altitude in the village area is 1,292 meters (4,239 feet) – slightly higher than Cortina city centre.
“There is only forest here,” said Paride Casagrande, the village’s construction manager. “Wind is an element. But it does not blow all day long, every day. It depends on the weather of the day. There may be very cold days, there may be very comfortable days. But it is also a fact that we are in a natural region where the weather is cold.”
Personalized heating When Paris Summer Olympics organizers announced they would not provide air conditioning in the Athletes Village, the United States and other teams brought in their own machines, undermining plans to reduce carbon emissions.
This time no one should have to bring their own climate control machines. Each room at Cortina Village has its own heating controls.
A thermostat regulates a wall-mounted heating unit, and there’s also an infrared panel on the ceiling that helps maintain the temperature, both powered by electricity.
“Without a lot of power, the temperature can be raised to 25-26 degrees Celsius (77-79 Fahrenheit), which should be all that is needed,” Casagrande said.
“But this is all subjective, considering I’ve seen athletes walking around outside in their underwear even though it’s snowing outside,” Casagrande added, referring to skating competitors in town for a test event. “The choice is in the hands of the athletes”
Sleeps on wheels Casagrande said every mobile home is on at least two wheels, and those wheels are used only for positioning, not transportation.
The houses were brought to Cortina by large freight trucks. The rooms are all approximately 18 square meters (200 square feet), with one of the two rooms in each mobile home being slightly larger than the other to accommodate Paralympic athletes.
Paralympic athletes’ rooms also include disabled-accessible showers, toilets and beds. Costs and legacy The total cost of the village is 38 million euros ($44 million).
While mobile homes are rented, buying one will cost up to 80,000 euros ($93,000). Following the Olympics and Paralympics, mobile homes will be reused in campsites across Italy, some of which are currently being used for a hockey club near Brunico.
environmental impact
The larger temporary buildings for the cafeteria, gym, and other common areas are currently heated by a natural gas-fired thermal power plant that also heats the Village’s water supply. Air handling units placed on top of buildings regulate the air.
The felling of trees to rebuild the village has sparked some protests from climate activists.
“Most of them were already dead,” Casagrande said. “But we also brought new plants and trees… This is a nature park and we will leave it as we found it.”
