Return to China - The 2008 Olympic Buildings

The Olympics are extremely competitive, but it isn't the athletes alone that compete. The Olympic Committee selects one city out of dozens of hopefuls to host the Games. The competition is fierce, with many factors influencing the 110+ members of the International Olympic Committee.

The 2008 Summer Olympics, to be hosted in Beijing, China, have spurred some serious architectural development just in order to host the games. Although there are dozens of Venues that the Olympics will take advantage of, a few in particular stand out for their simple "outstanding-ness". You'll see what I mean in a minute.

Check out the "Water Cube", to the left. It's proper name is the Beijing National Aquatics Centre. To my knowledge, there is no comparable building in the world. The outside is designed to look like cells, which are illuminated from behind at night. The design, believe it or not, reduces energy consumption by up to 30% simply by being more efficient in taking in sunlight for heat, and insulating it against loss. The real reason is the material used in construction, ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene), which is more durable, lighter, and less costly to install than glass.


This building, the Beijing National Stadium, is actually called "The Bird's Nest." That's right, because it resembles just that (click for a better look). The architecture is actually kind of interesting, for the very reason that it looks so random that it shouldn't be able to actually support itself. The mess of steel is actually just a façade, with the real supporting structure visible just behind it. Regardless, once completed, it will be capable of seating nearly 100,000 spectators during the Games.