National Aquatics Centre (Water Cube), China design was chosen from 10 proposals in an international architectural competition for the aquatic center project.  The Water Cube was specially designed and built by a consortium made up of PTW Architects (an Australian architecture firm), Arup international engineering group, CSCEC (China State Construction Engineering Corporation), and CCDI (China Construction Design International) of Shanghai. The Water Cube’s design was initiated by a team effort: the Chinese partners felt a square was more symbolic to Chinese culture and its relationship to the Bird’s Nest stadium, while the Sydney based partners came up with the idea of covering the ‘cube’ with bubbles, symbolising water. It should be noted that contextually the cube symbolises earth whilst the circle (represented by the stadium) represents heaven. Hence symbolically the water cube references chinese symbolic architecture.

Water Cube is one of the most dramatic and exciting sporting venues for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Enclosed within the blue bubble walls are five swimming pools, including a wave machine and rides and a restaurant, along with seating and facilities for 17 000 spectators.

The Water Cube is located in the Olympic Green, the focal point for the Beijing Games. The design was voted as the clear winner by the people of China in a competition for their favourite design. The square shape of the Water Cube is a reflection of the Chinese symbol for Earth, while the adjacent circular form of the National Stadium, also design-engineered by Arup, represents Heaven.

The striking Watercube structure will be energy efficient by maximising natural light and capturing solar energy to heat the interior spaces as well as the pools. Water efficiency will be achieved by rainwater harvesting, recycling, efficient filtration and backwash systems.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 21st, 2009 at 2:30 pm and is filed under sport building. Tags: CCDI, CSCEC, PTW Architects, The National Aquatics Centre, water cube. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.