Source: CCTV.com

11-15-2007 16:00

Beijing will be basking in Olympic Glory in some of today’s most modern architecture. Around me is the construction site of the Olympic Green, the center for the 2008 Beijing Games. This Olympic stadium, nicknamed the Bird’s nest, will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 29th Olympiad. This architecture stands as a symbol of what china strives to achieve in its future; progressive ideas in a traditional land. With a total of 12 new stadiums in Beijing, today Rediscovering China will take you on a preview of these Olympic structures set out to impress the world

The Bird’s Nest National Stadium is jointly designed by Herzog and De Meuron Architecture in Switzerland, and the China Architecture Design & Research Group. The grid-like formation, almost like a bird's nest with its interwoven twigs, is unique in the world and makes an exceptional impression.

This here is the first draft of the Bird’s Nest. The original outline displays a retracting roof with no columns allowing the structure to become one huge covered arena. This plan carried a price tag of up to 3.7 billion RMB and would use 53000 tons of steel.

The Charles de Gaulle airport holds structural similarities to the original Bird’s nest. However, on May 23rd, 2004, this concept proved to be inadequate when the roof collapsed. Considered the potential danger and the huge amount of unsupported inner space with such a magnitude of weight, the construction of Bird’s Nest was forced to stop.