The National Aquatics Center, also known as Water Cube, was built in Olympic
Green as the main venue for the swimming competition of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
It is also a landmark project in the 2008 Olympics. The design of the Water
Cube was derived from the victorious proposal in the international architectural
competition for the aquatics center project. It started on December 24th 2003
and completed on January 28th 2008.
The membrane structure of Water Cube has been unparalleled in the world. It is based on the constitution of cells and natural formation of soap bubbles. The originality is pretty vagarious. The wall and proof of Water Cube both has 3 layers and it comprises a steel space frame by over 30000 steel structural members. None of the two are placed identically, which is China¡¯s self-renovation, filling a blank in the history of Architecture. In Chinese culture, water is an important nature element. It can revive people¡¯s happy mood. After the Olympic, it has turned into the largest aquatic paradise in Beijing. The designers cudgeled their brains for various aquatic recreations to cater for the interest of customers in different ages. It not only arouses people¡¯s inspiration and passion, but also enriches people¡¯s life and leaves them good memories.
As an energy-saving building, Water Cube has its unique features. The ETFE
cladding allows more light and heat to penetrate in, resulting in a 30% decrease
in energy costs. The detailed design and building thoroughly show the conception
of the cultural Olympics, cultural Olympics and scientific and technological
Olympics. During the Olympic Games, many world records were broken and nearly
each day there was a world-record broken. It is called the water magic cube.