The National Aquatics Centre (), and colloquially known as the Water Cube () and the Ice Cube (), is an
aquatics center at the
Olympic Green
The Olympic Green () is an Olympic Park in Chaoyang District, Beijing, China constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Since then, the streets around the park have been used for an exhibition street race of the FIA GT1 World Championship in 20 ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
The facility was originally constructed to host the aquatics competitions at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
and
Paralympics
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...
. During the Olympics — where it hosted
diving
Diving most often refers to:
* Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water
* Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes
Diving or Dive may also refer to:
Sports
* Dive (American football), a ...
,
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
and
synchronized swimming
Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...
events — 25 world records were broken in swimming. In July 2010, a renovation of the facility was completed, which included the addition of a public
water park
A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
.
With Beijing being awarded the
2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...
, the Water Cube became known as the Ice Cube as part of the Water Cube was renovated in 2019 to allow the hosting of
curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
events.
Architecture
In July 2003 the Water Cube design was chosen from 10 proposals in an international
architectural competition
An architectural design competition is a type of design competition in which an organization that intends on constructing a new building invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel o ...
for the aquatic center project.
[
]
The Water Cube was specially designed and built by a
consortium
A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...
made up of
PTW Architects
PTW Architects is an Australian architecture firm founded in Sydney in 1889. In 2013, PTW was acquired by Chinese architecture and engineering consulting firm China Construction Design International (CCDI).
PTW has become a highly diversified ...
(an Australian
architecture firm
In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countri ...
),
Arup international engineering group, CSCEC (
China State Construction Engineering Corp
The China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) () is the largest construction company in the world by revenue and the 8th largest general contractor in terms of overseas sales, as of 2020.
While most of the assets of CSCEC were flo ...
oration), and CCDI (
China Construction Design International
CCDI Group () is a Chinese multinational architecture and engineering consulting firm that provides integrated professional services for urban construction and development headquartered in Shanghai. Its business units cover broad industry sectors w ...
) of Shanghai.
[Welcome to WaterCube, the experiment that thinks it's a swimming pool]
by Peter Rogers in The Guardian, May 6, 2004 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, symbolizing water. Contextually, the Cube symbolizes Earth, while the circle (represented by the elliptic stadium) represents heaven, a common motif in ancient Chinese art.
Comprising a steel
space frame
In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure ( 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with ...
, it is the largest
ETFE
Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) is a fluorine-based plastic. It was designed to have high corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range. ETFE is a polymer and its source-based name is poly(ethene-co-tetrafluoroethene). It i ...
-clad structure in the world with over 100,000 m² of ETFE pillows that are only 0.2 mm (1/125 of an inch) in total thickness.
The ETFE
cladding
Cladding is an outer layer of material covering another. It may refer to the following:
*Cladding (boiler), the layer of insulation and outer wrapping around a boiler shell
*Cladding (construction), materials applied to the exterior of buildings
...
, supplied and installed by the firm
Vector Foiltec
Vector Foiltec is a business using transparent plastic (ETFE) cushions filled with air as an architectural Cladding (construction), cladding technology. This solution can be better than glass panels in applications such as roofs over aggressive en ...
, allows more light and heat penetration than traditional glass, resulting in a 30% decrease in energy costs.
This choice was made in view of Beijing's goal of presenting a fully "green" Olympic Games, with zero net growth in total carbon emissions. Likewise, the venue was also designed to "capture and recycle 80% of the water falling on the roof or lost from the pools."
The outer wall is based on the
Weaire–Phelan structure
In geometry, the Weaire–Phelan structure is a three-dimensional structure representing an idealised foam of equal-sized bubbles, with two different shapes. In 1993, Denis Weaire and Robert Phelan found that this structure was a better solution ...
, a structure devised from the
natural pattern of bubbles in soap lather. In the true Weaire–Phelan structure the edge of each cell is curved in order to maintain 109.5 degree angles at each vertex (satisfying
Plateau's rules
Plateau's laws describe the structure of soap films. These laws were formulated in the 19th century by the Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau from his experimental observations. Many patterns in nature are based on foams obeying these laws.
Laws f ...
), but of course as a structural support system each beam was required to be straight so as to better resist axial
compression
Compression may refer to:
Physical science
*Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces
*Compression member, a structural element such as a column
*Compressibility, susceptibility to compression
* Gas compression
*Compression ratio, of a ...
. The complex Weaire–Phelan pattern was developed by slicing through bubbles in soap foam, resulting in more irregular, organic patterns than foam bubble structures proposed earlier by the scientist
Kelvin
The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phys ...
.
Using the Weaire–Phelan
geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...
, the Water Cube's exterior cladding is made of 4,000 ETFE bubbles, some as large as across, with seven different sizes for the roof and 15 for the walls.
[
]
The structure had a capacity of 17,000 during the games.
It also has a total land surface of 65,000 square meters and covers a total of .
Although called the Water Cube, the aquatic center is really a
rectangular box (cuboid) square and high.
The building's popularity has spawned many copycat structures throughout China. For example, there is one-to-one copy of the facade near the ferry terminal in
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
– the ''Casino Oceanus'' by
Paul Steelman
Paul Curtis Steelman (born September 23, 1955), a native of Atlantic City, New Jersey, is an American architect who is recognized as a designer of global entertainment, hospitality, and gaming architecture based in Las Vegas, Nevada and Macau. Pa ...
.
File:Water Cube The National Aquatics Center Chaoyang Beijing.jpg, Water Cube The National Aquatics Center in Chaoyang
File:Beijing_National_Aquatics_Centre_1.jpg, The National Aquatics Center under construction, with the Beijing National Stadium
The National Stadium (), also known as the Bird's Nest (), is an 80,000-capacity stadium in Beijing. The stadium was jointly designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron from Basel-based architecture team Herzog & de Meuron, p ...
in the background
File:Cubeinside.jpg, Inside the Water Cube on August 14, 2008
File:National Aquatics Center Construction.jpg, The Beijing National Aquatics Center while under construction
2008 Summer Olympics
The Aquatics Center hosted the swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming events during the Olympics.
Water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
was originally planned to be hosted in the venue but was moved to the
Ying Tung Natatorium
The Ying Tung Natatorium () is a swimming venue located in the Olympic Sports Centre in Beijing, China with a seating capacity of 4,852. It was upgraded for the 2008 Summer Olympics and expanded to 44,635 square metres. It hosted Olympic Water po ...
.
Many people believed the Water Cube to be the fastest
Olympic pool
An Olympic-size swimming pool conforms to regulated dimensions that are large enough for international competition. This type of swimming pool is used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is in length, typically referred to as "long cou ...
in the world. Over the course of the Games, 25
world records
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
were broken by athletes at the Water Cube, although all but two of them were achieved by swimmers wearing the controversial
LZR Racer
The LZR Racer (pronounced as "laser") is a line of competition swimsuits manufactured by Speedo using a high-technology swimwear fabric composed of woven elastane-nylon and polyurethane. The swimsuits are made in body-length; they compress th ...
bodyskin
Competitive swimwear refers to the swimsuit, clothing, equipment, and accessories used in the aquatic sports of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, triathlon, and water polo.
Some swimsuits are designed specifically for swimming competi ...
(which led to restrictions on the use of such suits being implemented by
FINA
FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...
in 2010).
Post-2008 Olympics usage and legacy
![Water Cube Ice Cube Beijing 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Water_Cube_Ice_Cube_Beijing_4.jpg)
After the Olympics, the Water Cube was opened to the public on select days of the week beginning in June 2009, and was also used as the site for a production of ''
Swan Lake
''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...
'' among other shows. On 19 October 2009, the Water Cube was closed to the public to begin a renovation of a portion of the complex into a
water park
A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
, led by Canadian design firm Forrec, promising "seven-story water slides and a wave machine, as well as attractions for the more land inclined such as shopping centers, cafes, and performance stages."
The facility officially reopened on 28 July 2010, with the water park opening on 8 August 2010 (the second anniversary of the Games' opening). The renovation divided the facility into three pool areas (a main pool, Olympic "demonstration" pool, and a training pool), as well as the water park area.
In July 2013, the Water Cube introduced a new LED light show on its exterior, "Nature and Man in Rhapsody of Light", by artist
Jennifer Wen Ma and lighting designer Zheng Jiawei. Its colors are determined by trending use of
emoji
An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conversat ...
on
Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo (新浪微博) is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily acti ...
, which is in turn used to calculate the "mood" of the Chinese public
In 2018, it was reported that the venue had achieved revenues of 124 million yuan (about $18 million USD), and has been breaking even for years.
2022 Winter Olympics
![Water Cube Ice Cube Beijing 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Water_Cube_Ice_Cube_Beijing_2.jpg)
The Water Cube has been hosting the
curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
events during the
2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...
and
Paralympics
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...
, a configuration nicknamed the "Ice Cube". After Beijing was awarded the Games, work began on renovations to the facility to allow it to be converted to a curling rink, including the addition of ice-making equipment and other necessary climate control and monitoring systems.
It hosted its first event in this configuration, the China Junior Curling Open, in December 2019.
Awards
* 2004:
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
– Award for most accomplished work Atmosphere section
[(page in Flash presentation)]
* 2006: ''
Popular Science
''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
'' Best of what's new 2006 in engineering
* 2008:
NSW
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
Project of the Year award from the Australian Institute of Project Management
* 2009: 40th annual
MacRobert Award
The MacRobert Award is regarded as the leading prize recognising UK innovation in engineering by corporations. The winning team receives a gold medal and a cash sum of £50,000.
The annual award process begins with an invitation to companies to ...
, the UK's biggest prize for engineering innovation
* 2010:
International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering
The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) is a non-profit organisation with mission to promote the exchange of knowledge and to advance the practice of structural engineering worldwide in the service of the profess ...
2010
Outstanding Structure Award The Outstanding Structure Award is an award presented by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering to the Engineer, Architect, Contractor, and the Owner in recognition of ''the most remarkable, innovative, creative or othe ...
See also
*
Frei Otto
Frei Paul Otto (; 31 May 1925 – 9 March 2015) was a German architect and structural engineer noted for his use of lightweight structures, in particular tensile and membrane structures, including the roof of the Olympic Stadium in Munich for ...
*
Chris Bosse
Chris Bosse is a German-born architect, resident in Sydney in Australia. He was a designer of the Beijing National Aquatics Centre, which was built for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Life
Chris Bosse was born on 30 September 1971 in Stuttgart to ...
*
Rob Leslie-Carter
*
Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics
The Swimming (sport), swimming competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place from 9 to 17 August 2008 at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre. The newly introduced open water marathon events (10 km) were held on 20 and 21 August 2008 ...
*
Swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
The swimming events of the 2008 Summer Paralympics were held in the Beijing National Aquatics Center between September 7 and September 15, 2008. A total of 140 gold medals were expected to be distributed. Paralympic records were broken in 122 ev ...
*
Curling at the 2022 Winter Olympics
The Curling at the Winter Olympics, curling competitions of the 2022 Winter Olympics were held at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre, one of the Olympic Green venues. Curling competitions were scheduled for every day of the games, from Febr ...
*
Wheelchair curling at the 2022 Winter Paralympics
The wheelchair curling competition of the 2022 Winter Paralympics was held from 5 to 12 March 2022 at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre in Beijing, China.
Medalists
Qualification
Qualification for the 2022 Paralympics was based on rankings ...
*
Timothy Schreiber
Timothy Schreiber is a London-based, design artist. Schreiber's limited edition items are represented by various galleries including88-Galleryin London.
In 2013 Schreiber started working in cast glass with his "icicle tables" being his first ...
References
External links
Official websiteNational Aquatics Center (Water Cube)Science News article describing the design of the building and the mathematics behind itNews and Project Information on the Watercube, BeijingThe Water Cube's creation process
{{Authority control
Venues of the 2008 Summer Olympics
Venues of the 2022 Winter Olympics
Contemporary Chinese architecture
High-tech architecture
Olympic diving venues
Olympic swimming venues
Olympic synchronized swimming venues
Olympic curling venues
Sports venues in Beijing
Swimming venues in China
Articles containing video clips
Water parks
Sports venues completed in 2008
Buildings and structures in Chaoyang District, Beijing