January 30, 2008

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Beijing's Bubble-wrapped “Water Cube” Unveiled 

On Monday, January 28, China officially unveiled its bubble-wrapped National Aquatics Centre, nicknamed the "Water Cube," one of the two iconic venues for this year's Beijing Olympics. The imposing rectangular box, clad in a honeycomb of transparent plastic cushions, will host the swimming and diving events for the August 8-24 Olympics.
 
The 1.03-billion-yuan ($143.7 million U.S.) complex does not yet match the "dreamlike and water-blue building" of the official description, and the exterior pneumatic cushions need cleaning from the grime of construction. However, officials are delighted at completion of the complicated structure, which was designed by an Australian consortium and begun in 2003.

"I feel very excited and proud of this venue," Li Aiqing, president of the Beijing State-Owned Assets Management Company, told reporters. "It is one of the biggest swimming centers in the world. The whole project is complex and unique. After five years of effort, we are very, very happy."

The "Water Cube" is partly unique in that it was funded by contributions from "overseas Chinese", including $25 million from late Hong Kong billionaire Henry Fok and his family. The pool, where American Michael Phelps could become the first man to win eight gold medals at one Games, sits flush by the diving pool, where China hopes to scoop a bundle of medals.

But it is to the ceiling of cushions above the 17,000 seats—11,000 of them temporary—that the eye is drawn. The arena will perhaps look best at night, when an LED system of 16.7 million tones will turn it into a vibrant kaleidoscope of color, inside and out. "Mostly it is a building of water, so we'll mainly use the colors of water," said Zheng Fang, chief architect of China Construction Designs International.

The centre will host its first event, the China Open swimming competition, on Thursday, January 31. A second showpiece Olympic venue, the neighboring 91,000-seat National Stadium, is scheduled for completion by the end of March.

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