Work is underway on the Olympics and Paralympics village in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 21. The village was 85 percent complete and on schedule to be fully operational on July 24, 2016. XU ZIJIAN FOR CHINA DAILY

Construction on the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic village is 85 percent complete and due to be wrapped up by the end of the year, construction consortium Ilha Pura told China Daily on July 21.

Work on the 475,000-square-meter residential complex in Barra da Tijuca, in the western part of Rio, began in July 2012. There are 31 buildings, each with 17 floors, divided into seven condominiums. The 3,604 apartments and 10,160 bedrooms will have a total capacity of 18,000 guests.

The village is next to Barra Olympic Park, the heart of the games. Unlike the sluggish preparation for the Brazil World Cup, construction of the Olympic village is on schedule, as all 31 of the buildings are already up. "With 85 percent of the work complete, workers are now focusing on the final phases,” said Mauricio Cruz, general director of Ilha Pura.

"On July 24, 2016, the village will open and welcome athletes. To make them more comfortable, the buildings include wide doors, high showers and elevators that can handle up to two wheelchairs at the same time," added Cruz.

The village has been designed to provide the Olympic and Paralympic athletes with the highest level of comfort. The doors are 10 cm wider than conventional doors, the showers will be 2.2 m high, as opposed to the standard 2.1 m, and the beds will be 2.17 m long. The organizing committee hired group of former athletes to help select the furniture.

Accessibility has been addressed in detail. The entire neighborhood has been designed using international accessibility standards for the disabled. The buildings will offer apartments that can be used by the entire population.

The village has also adopted high-technology to achieve sustainability. Water used by residents, to wash hands or bathe, will be reused in toilets. A local treatment station will reduce local water consumption by 40 percent. The village will have 10,000 square meters of green roofing covering all of its buildings and parking facilities. In addition to helping reduce heat, green roofs provide solutions for recurring problems in major cities, such as the creation of heat islands, flooding and high power consumption. Energy efficiency will be enhanced by 76 water-heating solar panels installed on the roofs of three buildings in the neighborhood.

After construction is complete, the process of transforming the buildings into a residential complex will begin. Temporary structures will include a health centre, a 5,000-diner cafeteria and a gym.

"Everything is developing very well at the village," said Mario Cilenti, the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics village director.

"We are working in partnership with Ilha Pura and we have a highly qualified team with broad experience in other games. We will take charge of the village on March 1, 2016. At that moment, we will begin the structural transformation and the installation of cabling and furniture," Clienti said. "We will have enough time for all the necessary structural testing and to allow the suppliers and the teams that will work there access."