Bird's nest, the National Stadium

The Swiss architects worked together with Chinese experts to build the arena, which will seat 100,000 spectators.

"I think we sort of reinvented stadium architecture,"said Gugger. "You can't change the basic form of a stadium... but you can add a new architectural quality."

Herzog and de Meuron have already won a string of important contracts for major venues, notably St Jakob's Park stadium, home of Swiss football team, FC Basel.

Swiss architects scoop Olympic gold

The design by the Basel-based duo, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, was chosen by an international jury and by visitors to an exhibition of projects for the stadium.

Out of 6,000 visitors, 3,506 voted for the Swiss design, which was up against stiff competition from Chinese and Japanese architects.

"We knew that our design was extraordinary, but it's always a lottery," Harry Gugger, the partner in charge of the stadium project, told swissinfo.

"For an architect, winning [this competition] is like [qualifying] for the Olympic Games - it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance."

Architectural Summary

The new National Stadium is located on a gentle rise in the centre of the Olympic complex. It is conceived as a large collective vessel. An undulating composition of high and low elevations moderates the bulk of the vessel and gives it a dramatic sweeping form. The stadium's appearance is pure structure.

Facade and structure are identical. The structural elements mutually support each other and converge into a grid-like formation - almost like a bird's nest with its interwoven twigs. The spatial effect of the stadium is novel and radical and yet simple and of an almost archaic immediacy, thus creating a unique historical landmark for the Olympics 2008.

The stadium is conceived as a large collective vessel which makes a distinctive and unmistakable impression both when it is seen from a distance and from close up. It meets all the functional and technical requirements of an Olympic National Stadium, but without communicating the insistent sameness of technocratic architecture dominated by large spans and digital screens.

The spatial effect of the stadium is novel and radical and yet simple and of an almost archaic immediacy. Its appearance is pure structure. Facade and structure are identical. The structural elements mutually support each other and converge into a grid-like formation, in which facades, stairs and the roof are integrated.

Visitors walk through this formation and enter the spacious ambulatory that runs full circle around the stands. From there one can survey the circulation of the entire area including the stairs that access the three tiers of the stands. Functioning like an arcade or a concourse, the lobby is a covered urban space with restaurants and stores that invite visitors to stroll around.

The stands are designed without any interruption to evoke the image of a bowl. This evenly constructed shape serves to focus attention on the spectators and the events on the field. The human crowd forms the architecture. The facility provides good comfort, excellent views and a superb atmosphere. It will generate crowd excitement and drive athletes to outstanding performances.

The Exterior Shell - Inflated Cushions as a Filler

Just as birds stuff the spaces between the woven twigs of their nests with a soft filler, the spaces in the structure of the stadium will be filled with inflated ETFE cushions. On the roof, the cushions will be mounted on the outside of the structure to make the roof completely weatherproof. Whilst the rain is collected for rainwater recuperation the sunlight filters through the translucent roof providing the lawn with essential UV-Radiation.

On the facade, the inflated cushions will be mounted on the inside of the structure where necessary, e.g. to provide wind protection. Since all of the facilities - restaurants, suites, shops and restrooms - are all self-contained units, it is possible to do largely without a solid, enclosed facade. This allows natural ventilation of the stadium which is the most important aspect of the stadium's sustainable design.

The Sliding Roof - the Lid of the Tin

The sliding roof is an integral part of the structure of the stadium. When it is closed, it converts the stadium into a covered arena. Just as a tin is only complete with a lid, the roof, whether closed or open, is an elementary part of the whole. With its own structural logic, it is also a grid-like formation that forms a waterproof shell together with the inflated cushions.

National Stadium

China's National Stadium was announced on June 28, 2008 to be fully operational, signaling the readiness of all 37 venues for the upcoming Beijing Olympics in August. The National Stadium, known as the "Bird's Nest" for its architecture, will serve as the main venue of the 29th Summer Olympic Games. It will hold the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, track and field events, football events, and some events for the later Paralympics. The construction of the National Stadium began in December of 2003. It is located in the Olympic Green in the northern part of Beijing.

Design

In 2002, Government officials engaged architects worldwide in a design competition. Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & DeMeuron collaborated with ArupSport and China Architecture Design & Research Group to win the competition. The ground was broken on Christmas Eve December 2003 and completed on June 28, 2008 as nationwide sensation.

The stadium also topped architecture category of the 100 most influential designs in Times magazine earlier this year. The seats are settled in an interlocking network of steel bars, which makes every single seat equal to each other and brings the audience back to the nature. The hollowed complex allows in sunshine to the maximum, making spectators feel like they are in a forest.

The bowl shape would help the audience focus on the bottom center of the container, and integrate people and structure as a whole. You can imagine yourself to be an athlete, standing at the center of the venue attracting thousands of eyes. You will be turned on by the audience's cheers, feeling like at the center of a stage.

It will lead you to final success. That's exactly the spirit of sports since ancient Greek. The Bird's Nest, which implies the meaning of "hope," is set to become a landmark competition venue and a longstanding symbol of the Olympics. As a Beijing icon, it attracts photo-snapping crowds every day.

Capacity

The National Stadium stretches 333 meters from north to south and 298 meters from east to west, covering an area of 258,000 square meters. It is 68 meters high and can seat as many as 91,000 spectators during the Olympics. The capacity will then be reduced to 80,000 after the Games. It has replaced the original intended venue of the Guangdong Olympic Stadium.

Structure

The National Stadium is surrounded in a sort of membrane. Unlike China's National Aquatics Center, or "Water Cube," another Olympic venue which is also surrounded in this membrane, the Bird's Nest version is curved and double-layered, offering gracefully decorative soundproof, wind-proof, rain-proof, and even UVA protection to its already impressive body.

The outer layer of membrane, completely constructed in November of 2007, was created using 884 individual ETFE panels, covering a total of 38,500 square meters. The inner layer consists of PTFE material. 1,044 panels take up 53,000 square meters of area, whose main purposes are to better the acoustics in the stadium and to support the equipment within the steel frame.

This special membrane can also help lighting within the stadium and effectively diminish glare and shadowing, allowing for a more favorable competition environment.

Concept of "Green Olympics"

Not only is Beijing's "Bird's Nest" aesthetically pleasing, the sports venue was also designed with high-tech internal gear designed to keep in line with the concept of a "Green Olympics."

Behind the "Bird's Nest" is a comprehensive world-class rainwater recycling system that operates on a 24-hour schedule which can collect rainwater from the National Stadium and its surrounding areas, purify it, and then recycle it for use in the venue. The recycled water has many uses, including irrigating the approximately 80,000 square meters of green ground surrounding the "Bird's Nest," cleaning cars and roads, cooling air conditioners, etc.

The immense water recycling system measures out to about the size of 6 football fields. An average of 67 thousand cubic meters of water can be recycled through the system each year. A maximum of 12,000 cubic meters of water may be stored in the 6 containers located underground.