Sports Venue Talk

Birds Nest

Is it possible for a sports venue to resemble a birds nest? Is it possible for people to walk along the edge of the roof of a stadium? Is it possible for the roof of a sports stadium to completely open up? Can a hundred thousand people enter and exit the stadium at the same time? The answer to all these questions is in the affirmative. It is very much possible and the Beijing National Stadium promises just that. Come 08. 08. 2008 on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the XXIX Olympic Games, people will be able to have a unique experience.

Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/cptvenues

Unique design
Beijing National Stadium is unique in more ways than one; it is not the conventional stadium that one gets to see with concrete all over with a dash of colourful seats. The architecture is one of a kind it is designed like a birds nest. Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron used the analogy of a bird’s nest and won the bid hands down. A striking feature is the shape - at one glance from any angle, the stadium resembles that of a nest due to the crisscrossed interwoven steel roof construction. A whopping thirty-six kilometers of unwrapped steel was used, with a combined weight of 45,000 tonnes.

The stadium can seat a hundred thousand people and when the wings open they leave no railing or structures. One may question as to why so much steel was used? The design needed it and each part of the grid support and compliment each other like a birds nest with its interwoven twigs.

Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/cptvenues

Moving roof
Another feature of the National Stadium is the moving roof which is designed like two leaves. The most unique feature of the stadium is that spectators can climb to the top of the roof. It is possible for people to walk over a safe path along the roof. The central roof can be completely opened to a diameter of 130 meters providing a thrilling experience to people. The roof of the stands offers a panoramic view and can be opened and closed in 40 minutes against wind speeds of up to 50 km/hr. The roof is made of Teflon coated fibre glass.

Novel look
The stadium creates an image of a floating water lily with the bowl being partially sunken. The transparencies of the roof petals allow for natural light and there is provision to open for natural ventilation. The petals can open and close to suit varied weather conditions.

Key Facts

Name: National Stadium

Location: Olympic Green

Total land surface: 258,000 Sq m

Permanent Seats: 80,000

Temporary Seats: 11,000

Events: 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;

Architect/Designer: Herzog & DeMeuron (Swiss) and China Architecture Design Institute

(Key Facts Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/cptvenues/venues/nst/n214078095.shtml)