It took three days with engineers slowly uploading 78 bracketing structures that supported the weight of the National Stadium’s steel skeleton, but the final step of the process was completed Sunday. The stadium is the centrepiece of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games and the venue for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, track and field events, and the football finals.
Zhang Hengli, deputy general manager of the National Stadium Company Ltd., told the reporters Sunday that “it was technically challenging. The trickiest part of the construction process is over”.
Li Xinggang, deputy chief architect of the China Architecture Design and Research Group said, “we opted to use translucent materials to fill the spaces between grid-like steel structures as we intend to attract spectators’ attention to athletes’ performance, and the bowl-shaped stands we designed can bring together all spectators who encompass the athletes or artists”.
Li added, “we optimized the design by omitting the originally designed retractable roof and enlarging the size of the rooftop opening resulting in less steel use, but the bird’s nest is still the bird’s nest”.
Hou Zhaoxing, a leading expert in the construction of the 2008 Olympic projects, said tens of new technologies, involving design materials, manufacturing, installation, monitoring and management areas were used in the process.
Work is now underway on more than 30 Olympic venues including a “cutting edge” National Aquatics Center known as the “Water Cube”. Most venues are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
The committee will begin testing the venues starting next year by hosting about 40 events ahead of the 2008 Games, which open on August 8, 2008.
