National Stadium in China
The National Stadium, located in Beijing, China, was built for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It was designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron and was completed in 2007. The stadium has a seating capacity of 91,000 and is one of the largest stadiums in the world.
The stadium is a masterpiece of steel and concrete, and it has a seating capacity of 91,000. It is regarded as one of the most iconic stadiums in the world and has become a symbol of China’s global presence.
During the 2008 Summer Olympics, the National Stadium was the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as track and field events. It also hosted the men’s and women’s football finals, and the medal ceremonies for athletics.
Aside from the Olympics, the National Stadium has also hosted major sporting events such as the 2015 World Championships in Athletics and the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Interestingly, the stadium’s design was inspired by Chinese ceramics and was constructed using a technique called “nest making” which involved intertwining steel beams to create the unique appearance of the stadium.
One interesting fact about the National Stadium is that it was built with a focus on environmental sustainability. The design of the stadium incorporated many green features, such as natural ventilation and rainwater harvesting. Additionally, the venue has a unique lighting system that reduces energy consumption by up to 35%, making it one of the most environmentally friendly stadiums in the world.
Interesting facts about National Stadium
1.What went into building the stadium?
The stadium has a floor space of 254,600 square meters and it took around 5 years to build this massive structure with contributions from offices across the globe, as far-reaching as Europe, Manchester, and London. Its construction began in December 2003 and lasted till March 2008. The enormity of the project is reflected in its total volume of 3 million cubic meters!
2. The largest steel structure in the world.
This bowl-shaped masterpiece with its elliptical crosshatched latticework, depicting phenomenal artistic maturity, was constructed using 42,000 tons of steel and had a total weight of 110,000 tons of structural materials. The roof itself weighed 11,200 tons and was supported by temporary columns until the stadium was unveiled and the web held up the structure. This design was based on 24 trussed columns, each weighing 1000 tons, that needed to be assembled and welded in situ as it was beyond the strength of any crane to position them into place. The lattice frame itself is composed of 26 kilometers of unwrapped steel.
3. Engineering challenges and life.
Beyond the iconic lattice design, that radically rethought sacred architecture, the use of new-age steel presented an unanticipated set of problems. Since this type of steel needed higher welding temperatures, it could be done only in atmospheric temperatures ranging from 15 degrees to 16 degrees Celsius. This meant that the 400 workers had to weld the steel frame only in the evening hours. As one of the larger constructed structures, the stadium is set to live and represent the apogee of sports architectural mastery for over a 100 years!
4. Cost
The construction of the Bird’s Nest cost a whopping $423 million but this was a small fraction compared to the $40 billion being spent on the preparation of the Beijing Olympics.
5. The symbolism of the stadium.
Chinese culture played an important role in the design of the Beijing National Stadium. The stadium was meant to symbolize the ‘great nature’ on earth with an overall theme of balance. Apart from its aesthetics, the space was designed in a way to show the coexistence of the urban Olympic games amidst natural surroundings, symbolized by the Olympic Green, the main site of the 2008 games. The original concept for the facade came from the idea of a single thread wrapped around a ball and due to its organic and interlocking shape, it was aptly nicknamed “Bird’s Nest”. The brilliance of the latticework is denoted in the multiple pentagrams created by its functional geometry, which are reminiscent of the stars on the Chinese flag.
6. Energy design features
The stadium, with its seemingly dematerialized leitmotif, garnered attention not only for its bewildering architecture but also for its sustainable design that included the incorporation of natural ventilation, maximized use of daylighting, rainwater harvesting techniques, and solar photovoltaic power generation among others.
Conclusion
The National Stadium in China is now one of the most recognizable structures in the world, and a symbol of modern architecture in China. Its unique design has won numerous awards, and it continues to be a popular tourist attraction.
