The Beijing National Olympic Stadium, the "Bird's Nest", in the rain and mist
Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, is a stadium in Beijing, The stadium (BNS) was a joint venture among architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Herzog & de Meuron, project architect Stefan Marbach, artist Ai Weiwei, and CADG which was led by chief architect Li Xinggang. The stadium was designed for use throughout the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics and will be used again in the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The stadium is currently mostly unused, after having been unsuccessfully suggested as the permanent headquarters of the Beijing soccer team. Located at the Olympic Green, the stadium cost US$428 million. The design was awarded to a submission from the Swiss architecture firm in April 2003 after a bidding process that included 13 final submissions. The design, which originated from the study of Chinese ceramics, implemented steel beams in order to hide supports for the retractable roof; giving the stadium the appearance of a bird's nest. Leading Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was the artistic consultant on the project. The retractable roof was later removed from the design after inspiring the stadium's most recognizable aspect. Ground was broken on 24 Dec. 2003 and the stadium officially opened on 28 June 2008. A shopping mall and a hotel are planned to be constructed to increase use of the stadium, after the Olympics. The stadium consists of two independent structures, standing 50 feet apart: a red concrete seating bowl and the outer steel frame around it. The "random-looking additional steel" blends the supports into the rest of the stadium. Twenty-four trussed columns encase the inner bowl, each one weighing 1,000 tons. Despite the random appearance of the Stadium, each half is nearly symmetrical. All 110,000 tons of steel were made in China. On 14 May 2008 the grass field of 7,811 square meters was laid. The field is a modular turf system by GreenTech ITM. Beijing National Stadium officially opened at on 28 June 2008.
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Beijing National Stadium, people's republic of China
Photo credit: © DV TRAVEL / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 2008, architect, architecture, beijing, birds, china, chinese, de, football, games, herzog, jacques, landmark, meuron, national, nest, olympic, pierre, rain, raining, sports, stadium, umbrellas, wet
