The Beijing National Stadium, which is also referred to as simply the National Stadium or as the Bird’s Nest because of how it was built, is visually stunning and certain to become a culturally significant building. As such, the amazing building will be front and center during the upcoming 29th Olympiad and will host many of the events taking place this summer.
The impressive stadium was specifically built for the Olympic Green in Beijing. In fact, both the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Olympics are scheduled to be held at the stadium. It will also be the site for track and field and soccer events during the games. Therefore, if you are planning to go to Beijing in order to see the Olympics in person, you will likely spend some time inside this large stadium. If not, you will certainly catch a glimpse of it as you watch from the television at home.
The Design of the Beijing National Stadium
The unique design of the Bird’s Nest was developed from a contest hosted by the Chinese government, which called upon the best ideas from architects across the globe. The chosen design was crafted by Herzog & DeMeuron, of Switzerland, Arup, and China Architecture Design Institute. The stadium was intended to include Chinese art elements, which is why modern Chinese artist Ai Weiwei also worked as a consultant for the winning design team.
Construction and Cost
Construction, which began in December 2003, was completed earlier this year. Its cost will reach about $423 million once all of the details are completed. As might be expected with such an impressive design, construction of the stadium was not a flawless operation. In fact, work was stopped in 2004 because of concerns about high building costs. As a result, officials asked that the design be changed to lower the stadium’s expense.
The Beijing Urban Construction Group Co was the primary contractor for the construction of the stadium, installing the steel beams. The company worked with several subcontractors, including Shenyang Yuanda Aluminum Industry Engineering Co., Changjiang Jinggong Steel Structure (Group) Co, Jiangsu Huning Steel Mechanism Co., China First Metallurgical Construction Co., and Jiangnan Heavy Industry Holdings Co.
With the change, designers eliminated plans to build a roof on the stadium. The change also left a large opening in the roof area. This resulted in completion of the project being delayed from 2006 to the start of 2008. The Beijing municipal government paid for about 58 percent of the project. The other 42 percent came from the China International Trust and Investment Corp. consortium.
Look and Safety
The appearance of the National Stadium is a tightly-knit grid, creating a bowl of sorts. The combination of the bowl appearance with the grid texture, created by the structural pieces, causes it to resemble a bird’s nest. The structure uses 36 km of unwrapped steel and rises to a height of more than 69 meters. Despite its unique design, it was also built with the fact in mind that Beijing sits within a major seismic zone. The structure was built to withstand a major earthquake. Therefore, careful considerations were made to ensure the safety of anyone inside the structure.
In all, the stadium can hold up to 91,000 people from the stadium’s seats. This was made possible with the addition of 11,000 temporary spots, which were added specifically for the Olympic events. After the Olympics are complete, the temporary seating will be removed and 80,000 permanent seats will remain.
Stadium Events
The stadium was designed to conform to the tough standards demanded for the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sets strict standards for how certain aspects, such as the track width and the location of jump pits, are built. Similar requirements are set by the International Amateur Athletics Federation.
But, the stadium was not built just for the upcoming Olympic games. It also was built with the Paralympics in mind. This event follows the Olympics and required designers to also include enough space for people using wheelchairs. Later, the stadium is scheduled to host major events, such as football and other sports, and music concerts. One end of the stadium also has an amphitheatre that could be used to host concerts. Some suspect the Beijing GuoAn football club might also use the stadium after the Olympics.
For a complete guide to the Beijing Olympics, local hotels, restaurants, sightseeing, and Olympic event venues, download the free 185-page Beijing Olympic Games 2008 Guide.
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August 12th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
It’s a very cool stadium - I was amazed at the opening ceremonies.