Olympics' Direct Effect on Architecture

Every four years athletes from across the world come together to compete in the summer Olympics. The Olympics is where athletes give it all they got to show their strength, endurance, and courage as they sprint, swim, flip, dive, and even score to come out on top. The Olympics has the ability to bring the world together for this grand event, and in conjunction has the ability to bring together leading architects. In preparation for the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing, there have been drastic design statements demonstrated in the newly constructed stadiums. World-renowned architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, in collaboration with China Architecture Design Institute, designed the new National Stadium. Many have nicknamed the stadium the “Bird’s Nest” due to its resemblance of sticks and twigs woven together. The “sticks and twigs” actually are an exterior structural element, which than translate into a canopy at the top. The stadium uses different height elevations, which give the structure a dynamic, sweeping feel.
The interior bowl will be able to house 91,000 spectators allowing the audience to become the field’s surrounding architecture. The swim stadium took on a very different architectural style, which promotes green design. The National Aquatics Center, or “Water Cube”, was designed by Zheng Fang to house the swimming portions of the Olympics. The Water Cube uses a special energy, efficient membrane, in a translucent cell structure. The membrane is made out of a material called ETFE, which is known for its high- energy radiation resistance. After its completion it has become the first building to use ETFE in China, and also the largest ETFE clad structure in the world. The membrane allows more light and heat penetration than traditional glass, which results in an estimated 30% reduction in energy costs. These two stadiums are not only housing the Olympics in Beijing, but they are also ground breaking in the architectural realm. They really make an effort in exploring building technologies, and opening the imagination. Tomorrow I will go more in depth about the Olympics effect on a city’s architecture, by using my hometown, Chicago, as an example. Chicago is up for nomination to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, and the architectural planning has already begun.