Physical Considerations of the Beijing National Stadium - Essay Example

The Beijing National Stadium was built for the sole purpose of hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. This unique structure has been nick d ‘The Bird’s Nest’ after the twisting metal steel added to hide the retractable roof, despite the changing of roof style. This massive building of steel and concrete was created in three years. Although the gem piece of the Olympics, the Chinese have found little use for this beautiful stadium due to the vastness and design of the building. Despite the lack of use, this stadium has become of landmark of the Chinese capital. The exceptional structure will become a shopping mall in the future. This inimitable stadium has proved to be a triumph for Chinese architecture. After winning the Olympic bid in 2001, Beijing held an offer for the best stadium design (Farrelly, 107). The requirements for this stadium were considerable. A few considerations for the stadium were the possibilities for future uses, a retractable roof, low maintenance and building cost, suitability for Olympic and Special Olympic competition, and a unique Chinese design. The ‘bird nest’ design was chosen by popular vote. Li Xinggang of China Architecture Design and Research Group (CADG) came up with the ‘nest’ model (Beijing National Stadium, China). After a public contest, the ‘nest’ model was chosen the most popular. The final Beijing National Stadium was developed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Herzog & de Meuron, project architect Stefan Marbach, artist Ai Weiwei, and CADG which was lead by chief architect Li Xinggang (Beijing National Stadium, China). The result was the current Beijing National Stadium. After the stadium was completed it had a budget around 280 million pound range (Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, 264). It was completed in three years in time for the Olympics (Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, 264). The height was 69.2m above level pitch level and 3 million cubic meters (Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, 264). Chinese art was also used for “the 91,000-seat stadium was designed to incorporate elements of Chinese art and culture; one of the design team is a Chinese artist. When the Olympics are finished the seating capacity will be reduced to 80,000. The stadium is 333m long from north to south, 294m wide from east to west, and 69.2m tall” (Beijing National Stadium, China). This made the Beijing National Stadium the largest stadium in the world. The design was based on parametric design software (Smith, 446). A bowl with a steel structure allowing for the stadium to fit into the city, with shops, parking, and other business to be under the outside was created. The design allowed for optimal wind flow for the grass to grow on the field. Since China has earthquakes, seismic factors had to be taken into account. Software was used because “while the surface of the structure is simple, the geometry is complex – the calculations were so numerous and complicated that they could not be solved manually. Software was needed to make sure that the web of twisting steel sections fitted together, as they have to twist and bend to follow the surface accurately” (Beijing National Stadium, China). The 110,000 tons of twisting steel beams had to be placed at optimal range, or risk collapsing the building. Another concern was monetarily. The software cut corners without cutting back on the beauty, before trying the design in real life. The use of computer design saved time that might have been wasted through trial and error. The Chinese did not have time to waste, since this building was needed for the summer 2008 Olympics. The software made this possible. The one drawback of the design came after the collapse of a roof at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport (Lubow). Beijing decided to review all major projects in an effort to prevent another tragedy. It was decided to eliminate the retractable roof, along with 9,000 seats (Lubow). Instead of a retractable roof, the architects replaced it with a ”roof covered with a double-layer membrane structure, with a transparent ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) membrane fixed on the upper part of the roofing structure and a translucent PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) membrane fixed on its lower part. A PTFE acoustic ceiling is also attached to the side walls of the inner ring” (Beijing National Stadium, China). This type of roof worked better than the retractable. It also added an ascetical aspect missing from the design with the retractable roof. While the outside forms the ‘nest’ of steel girders, the inside is based on a concrete foundation. The steel outside and concrete inside has the same base. “The main elements support each other and converge into a grid formation. The stand of the stadium is a seven-storey shear wall system with a concrete framework. The upper part of the stand and the stadium steel structure are actually separated from one another, but both of these are based on a joint foundation” (Beijing National Stadium, China). This allowed the massive amount of steel stability, along with functionality. The upkeep for the National Stadium is tremendous. After the Olympics, the building lost its functionality. The building is just too large for practical use. Demick reports “The National Stadium, known as the Birds Nest, has only one event scheduled for this year: a performance of the opera "Turandot" on Aug. 8, the one-year anniversary of the Olympic opening ceremony. Chinas leading soccer club backed out of a deal to play there, saying it would be an embarrassment to use a 91,000-seat stadium for games that ordinarily attract only 10,000 spectators. The venue, which costs $9 million a year to maintain, is expected to be turned into a shopping mall in several years, its owners announced last month.” For a country that is overpopulated, a large empty stadium is not practical. Although its designers did not have a shopping mall in mind, the stadium must be used. It cannot sit empty in a country too short of space. While a unique architectural triumph, the building is not adequate for everyday use. While architecturally the design is awesome, the practical uses for this building are slim. Even in America or Europe, capitalistic countries, a 91,000 seat stadium is impractical. Average concerts gather 20,000 to 50,000 at the most in these countries. The Chinese sporting events garner maybe 10,000. "They wanted to build the worlds biggest this and the worlds biggest that, but these buildings have almost zero long-term economic benefit” (Demick). The only true purpose of the building, as it was originally, designed was the Olympics. Even if the Olympics were held in China annually, the cost of maintenance would soon bankrupt the owners. The architects overlooked the future. Their concern was accommodating the Olympics, while coming in under budget. Another design should have been used that would have more possibilities of future use. This is the major failing of the Chinese Beijing Stadium. Despite being an architectural triumph, the Chinese Beijing Stadium is too large to be practical. This building served its purpose for the Olympics, but has fallen short of intended future purposes. The Chinese are finding that just because a structure can be build does not mean it should be built. Bibliography “Beijing National Stadium, China”. 2009. designbuild-network.com. Accessed 12 Apr. 2009 from http://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/national_stadium/ Beijing Institute of Architectural Design. Olympic Architecture: Beijing 2008. Birkhäuser Basel, 2008. Demick, Barbara. “Beijings Olympic building boom becomes a bust.” Los Angeles Times. 22 Feb. 2009. Farrelly, Lorraine. Basics Architecture: Construction and Materiality. New York: AVA Publishing, 2009. Heschong, Lisa. Thermal Delight in Architect. New York: The MIT Press, 1979. Lubow, Arthur (2006-05-06). "The China Syndrome". Magazine (The New York Times). Accessed 12 Apr. 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/magazine/21bejing.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. Smith, Ian F.C. Intelligent Computing in Engineering and Architecture: 13th EG-ICE Workshop 2006, Ascona, Switzerland, June 25-30, 2006, Revised Selected Papers. New York: Springer, 2009. Read More