|
Thu, October 16, 2008 |
Last Updated: October 14,2008 5:03:25 pm
|
|
July 27th, 2008, By Richard Trapunski
Beijing's Hopes Entwined in Bird's Nest
 A far cry from Yankee's Stadium. The NewsWith the Olympics inching closer and closer, all eyes are steadfastly fixed on Beijing's National Stadium. The 258,000 square meter structure, nicknamed "The Bird's Nest," will serve as the centre of all Olympic activity. Behind the NewsWith a capacity of 91,000 spectators, the stadium has been designated as the setting for the opening and closing ceremonies in addition to the main track and field and football events. Intended as an innovative and world-class piece of architecture, the Bird's Nest has nearly as many detractors as it has supporters.
Beijing would like nothing more than to see the stadium become a success. With all the negativity that has surrounded the Olympics already, the city would benefit from the ability to point to a concrete example of something good. The project began with good intentions and a keen sense of optimism. In 2002, Government officials initiated a worldwide design competition to choose the architect best suited to build a first-rate stadium. Collaborating with ArupSport and China Architecture Design & Research Group, the award-winning Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron edged out the competition. The ground was broken on Christmas Eve 2003 and construction officially began in March 2004. The design, with its use of interlocking steel configurations, nearly eliminates the traditional distinction between façade and structure. The entire building is composed of a grid-like formation that integrates the foundation to the point that the stadium is almost pure structure. Elements such as stairs, walls and roof are all part of the overall cohesive system. The bowl of the structure is split into eight zones and each has its own stability system, making each one essentially a separate building. Spaces left within the structure are filled with a sort of membrane or cushion system within the building, serving to regulate wind, weather and sunlight. It's analogous to birds stuffing their nests with a soft filler; hence the nickname. It all seems surprisingly thorough, well thought-out, and frankly pretty damn awesome. But since it's being built for the ostensibly cursed 2008 Olympics, the plans inevitably hit a snage. In August 2004, due to excessively high costs, construction was halted. The architects were asked to change their design in order to save money, an obvious setback in a structure so complicated that it required the development of special software in order to make calculations. The original plans called for a retractable roof, the existence of which largely influenced the bird's nest design. But in order to save 10% on the building cost, the roof was scrapped altogether. On one level, this is not such a negative thing. Many believe that this makes the stadium safer from seismic activity and reduced the total steel consumption. On the other hand, this does not provide complete protection from the elements. And, according to the state Meteorological Bureau, there's a 41% chance of rain during the opening ceremony. This would not be such a problem, but Beijing's Olympian rules include a ban on all long-handle umbrellas. Instead they've opted for a more novel approach, using weather modification to try to stop the rain altogether. And that makes a lot more sense than just allowing umbrellas. With the Bird's Nest now officially open, Beijing can only hope that the stadium lives up to its initial promise and all the money that was thrown at it. But in order to know for sure all they can do is wait. Comments
Share & Bookmark |
Reader Comment…by JohnSmith1
“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectet adipisci elit. Praesent molestie faucibus nisl donec convallis orci eu ipsum” |
You will be prompted to register or log in when posting.