In a first for the Olympics, the venue will make use of the "nomadic architecture" concept so that three schools can be constructed in Barra da Tijuca and one in Maracanã - each will accommodate 500 students - as part of a 178 million reais (£48 million/$77 million/€57 million) legacy project.

The construction of the 12,000-capacity Olympic Park arena, which will host handball during the Olympics and goalball at the Paralympics, is expected to start in the first half of next year and end by the second half of 2015.

The building costs are estimated to amount to 121 million reais (£33 million/$52 million/€39 million).

"With the aim not to leave permanent buildings underused after the Games, the City Hall and the Sports Ministry decided that the Handball Arena would be a temporary venue," Municipal Olympic Company (EOM) President Maria Silvia Bastos Marques said.

"To ensure the best use of public resources, the team involved in the project worked to define in advance the future use of the structure.

"Due to its characteristics, the Handball Arena adapted to the concept of nomadic architecture.

"This is the first time that this concept of nomadic architecture will be used in the Olympics, ensuring that even a temporary installation can provide a tangible legacy for the city."

The Rio 2016 handball arena will be relocated following the Games and transformed into four schools for a total of 2,000 Brazilian students ©Rio 2016


Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman spoke of the significance of the project in terms of the Games legacy.

"Converting the Rio 2016 Handball Arena into four schools after the Games is an excellent example of Rio´s commitment to ensuring the 2016 Games leave tangible benefits for the local community," he said.

"The nomadic architecture concept defined by our Government partners is a first for the Games and we are proud that 2,000 Brazilian schoolchildren will benefit from it for many years to come."

In Rio's Olympic candidacy file of 2009, the handball arena was presented as a permanent venue as the fourth hall of the Olympic Training Centre (OTC), but City Hall and the Government said it decided to change it to a temporary facility after discovering that the three halls already comply with the (OTC) demand.

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