- Venue : National Stadium;
- Location : Olympic Green;
- Total land surface (10,000 sq.
m.) : 25. 8;
- Seats : 91,000;
- Functions during the Games: Athletics,
Football;
- Post-Games use : The Stadium is
to stage sports events at national and international
levels, as well as cultural and entertaining activities;
- Groundbreaking date: Dec. 2003;
- Designer : Herzog & DeMeuron
(Swiss) and China Architecture Design Institute;
- Status quo: Groundwork has been
finished. Following work is underway.
|
| How does the 'bird's
nest' stand on its own feet? |
The National Stadium
in Beijing, the main stadium for the 2008 Olympic
Games, is dubbed the "bird's nest" because
of its innovative grid formation. The twig-like structural
elements and the bowl-shaped roof are the masterpiece
of the project, yet they pose great challenges to
technicians and workers who need to make the building
stand on its own feet.
Three years and eight months have passed since
earthworks started in December 2003, and now the
constructors are making decisive efforts to let
the "bird's nest" support its own weight
without relying on any of the supporting structures.
The large steel skeleton of the project weighs
42,000 tons, with the roof and the hanging parts
around it accounting for 11,200 tons. To bear such
a heavy load, 78 supporting structures were temporarily
installed and distributed in different points under
stress, i.e. 24 supporting structures along the outer
circle, 24 in the middle circle and 30 in the inner
circle. The current task is to discharge all these
supporting objects from a weight of 11,200 tons.
Through accurate calculation and careful argumentation,
experts came to understand that the unloading process
of the supporting frameworks should be divided into
seven steps and each step should abide by the sequence
of outer circle, middle circle, inner circle, middle
circle and inner circle. In other words, 35 mini-steps
are needed to complete the whole process.
To unload a supporting structure, or to load the
in-situ steel skeleton, a lifting jack is used. Jacking
pads with a height of 100mm to 200mm are placed on
the top of the supporting structures. When the lifting
jack rises, it replaces the structure to bear the
load of the steel skeleton, and a jacking pad is
removed. Then the jack descends slowly to give the
remaining load again to the column, thus repeating
a total of 35 times until the steel skeleton is able
to bear its own weight.
Accuracy is required during the process. The maximum
descent of the outer circle is limited to 68-286mm,
the middle circle 161-178mm and inner circle 208-286mm.
If the descent of the steel structure, which relies
on its own supporting capability, exceeds the extent,
or cracks appear somewhere in the skeleton, then
problems might exist in the design, manufacturing
or construction stages in the past three years. In
a word, the unloading process is a proof of "the
bird's nest" quality. |
 |
- Venue: National Aquatics Center;
- Location: Olympic Green;
- Total land surface (sq. m.): 65,000 - 80,000;
- Seats: 6,000 permanent and 11,000 temporary;
- Functions during the Games: Swimming, Diving, Water
Polo, and Synchronized Swimming;
- Groundbreaking date: Dec. 24, 2003;
|
| Introduction to National
Aquatics Center |
National Aquatics
Center, the landmark building of Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games, is located inside the Beijing Olympic Green.
It is axially related to the National Stadium on
the north part of Beijing Central Axis and reinforces
the historical and cultural features of Beijing city.
The planning area of the NSC is 62950m², and the
total floor area is 65,000 - 80,000m², in which the
underground component is not less than 15,000 m².
The National Aquatics Center will be the venue
for swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and
water-polo final during the Olympic Games. The
total seating capacity is 17,000, including 6,000
permanent and 11,000 temporary for Games which
will be removed post-Games, then the National Aquatics
Center will become the venue for various activities
such as aquatic sports, swimming, fitness and recreation.
The international competition-winning scheme is
known as "Water Cube" ([H2O]³). It is designed
by the design consortium consists of China State
Construction Engineering Corporation, China State
Construction International (Shenzhen) Design Co.,
Ltd, PTW Architects (Australia) and Ove Arup (Australia).
The design concept of the "water cube" combines
the symbolisms of the architecture and the unique
water bubble structure, and build an appropriate
complement to the National Stadium. The NSC functionally
meets the requirement of 2008 Olympic Games and post-games
operation.
The National Aquatics Center is owned, managed
and operated by BJSAM. Commenced at the end of 2003,
the construction of the building will last 3 years.
The total investment of the project is around 100
million US dollar. After the completion of the construction
by the end of 2006, the project will be approved
by IOC and FINA. (Provided by: Beijing Stated-owned
Assets Management Corp. Ltd) |
 |
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