Photo: Ben Hulse © VANOC/COVAN VANOC’s late design director Leo Obstbaum worked directly with Vancouver based industrial designer James Lee to create the Vancouver 2010 podiums (23 in all). Continuing  the wave forms used throughout the Vancouver 2010 graphic identity, the podium features organic planes “echoing the undulating peaks and ridges of the Coast Mountain Range”. The overall shape is said (by our VANOC insider) to be inspired by Vancouver Island. Local woods (Red Cedar and Douglas Fir) donated by First Nations, businesses, and individuals across the province were processed and cut into hundreds of precise shapes at UBC’s  Centre for Advanced Wood Processing. The pieces were then combined with acrylic glass components and assembled by RONA’s ‘Fab Shop’, which provides carpentry skills training to unemployed urbanites. The podiums are part of a larger design program for the Olympic Victory Ceremonies that also includes, floral bouquets, medal presentation trays and ceremonial uniforms for the medal bearers and escorts.