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cmyk China's Olympic Structures Olympic Structures of China Dr. N. Subramanian, Computer Design Consultants, Gaithersburg, USA Introduction meet and celebrate peace and beauty. Today, the Olympic Games are the world’s The Olympic Games is an international largest pageant of athletic skill and multi-sport event subdivided into summer competitive spirit. They also display and winter sporting events. According to nationalism, commerce and politics. legend, the ancient Olympic Games were During Olympics people from all over the founded by Heracles (the Roman world come to a central location to Hercules), a son of Zeus. Yet the first compete in different sports. Each country recorded Olympic Games were held in has a team and the team consists of the 776 BC Olympia, Greece, and were best players that country has selected. celebrated until AD 3931. The very first The Olympic Games is subdivided into modern Olympic Games opened in Athens, summer and winter sporting events Greece during the first week of April 1896. (Olympic winter games, were established At that time, the Greek government was in 1924). The summer and winter games unable to fund the construction of a are held once in every four years. Until stadium. Hence a wealthy Greek architect, 1992, both were held in the same year. Georgios Averoff, donated his wealth to Thereafter, they have been separated by restore the Panathenaic Stadium, originally a two year gap1,2. The Winter Olympics is built in 330 BC, with white marble for the less known because it has fewer events. Olympic Games1. Since then a number of While the sports persons eagerly impressive Olympic stadiums have been awaited for Olympic Games for breaking built in several parts of the world. sports records, for architects and civil The Olympic Games (also called engineers it was an opportunity to show Olympics) provide a venue for the world to 246 NBM&CW NOVEMBER 2008 cmyk cmyk China's Olympic Structures their skills, by constructing novel and 18,340 listed as missing), 374,176 breath-taking structures. Several Olympic injured, and about 4.8 million people were venues stand out as unique structures. rendered homeless3. The stadiums built/ For example, the roof of the Olympic renovated for the 2008 Olympics are listed stadium at Munich for the 1972 Games, in Table 1. which is made from plexi-glass panels With the Olympic Games as a suspended in a web, formed by steel showcase, Beijing officials early this cables that are hung from huge ‘tent decade commissioned cutting-edge poles,’ is considered revolutionary for its buildings, drawing leading architects and time(It attracts a number of visitors even designers from the world and giving a now). The 2008 Summer Olympics, platform to what is dubbed as “star- officially known as the Games of the XXIX chitecture.” Olympiad, an international multi-sport We will consider four important event, was held in Beijing, People’s structures, two of them built for the Republic of China from August 8 (8 is games: the National Stadium and the considered as a lucky number in China) National Aquatics centre, and two built to August 24, 2008. Though China is along with them: the China Central well known for the huge Great Wall in the Television Headquarters and Terminal 3 past, it will be remembered for its at Beijing Capital International Airport. memorable Olympics and also some of the structures, built in connection with it, The Beijing National for many years to come. Stadium Sports Venues The 91,000-seat Beijing National Stadium, also known as the National Stadium is China had to build or renovate 31 designed to look like a bird’s nest and competing stadiums and gymnasiums hence named Bird’s nest (Figure 1). It and 43 training venues for the 2008 hosted the main track and field Olympics. In addition to this challenge, competitions for the 2008 Summer China faced the challenge of Magnitude Olympics, as well as the opening and 8.0 Sichuan earthquake on 12th May 2008, closing ceremonies. It is located right in which 69,197 are confirmed dead (with next to the Beijing National Aquatics Centre. Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron collaborated with ArupSport and China Architectural Design & Research Group (which supervised the local construction) to win the worldwide design competition in 2002 for this stadium. Contemporary Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, is the Artistic Consultant for design. The pattern of steel members was inspired by a traditional ‘crazed’ pottery!4 The construction started in March 2004, but was halted by the high construction cost in August 2004 and continued again(it was decided not to include a retractive roof, in order to reduce the cost). In January 2008, concerns about construction working conditions arose when it was revealed that at least 10 workers had died during the stadium’s construction. The stadium is elliptical in shape, and the Bird’s Nest’s open roof curves 248 NBM&CW NOVEMBER 2008 cmyk cmyk China's Olympic Structures Figure1: The Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest), underconstruction (note the outermost layer of ETFE cladding at top) (source: Ref.4) like a saddle. The stadium consists of a (see Figure 2a, which is a model built by concrete bowl with seven tiers, around M/s. Arup to explain the concept of this which the nest-like façade of steel stadium). These main columns define the segments is connected (see Figure 1). plane of the facade, which is not strictly Some of these segments are also vertical but rather leans outward at and concourses people will use to gain access approximate angle of 13 degrees as it to the tiers and to ascend into the stadium. raises, lending the building its distinctive Designed to seat 80,000, the stadium in saddle shape4,5. These mega columns Olympic mode will have additional seating rise to the full height of the stadium to for 11,000. It has replaced the original join 12 m deep horizontal trusses that intended venue of the Guangdong Olympic span the roof (see Figure 2a). The mega Stadium. The stadium is 330 m long by column has three main booms–one 220 m wide, and is 69.2 m tall. The vertical and two inclined, they are tied central opening above the field is of size together by diagonal elements forming a 190m x 124m. The 258,000 m2 (gross three dimensional truss system. The roof floor area) stadium is built with 36 km of truss is composed of top and bottom unwrapped steel. As constructed the roof booms with diagonal struts. Depth of the structure consists of 42,000 tonnes of bottom chords reduces towards the center steel, while the stadium as a whole of the stadium from 1.2m to 0.8m The contains 110,000 tonnes of steel. The main elements for the columns and stadium has been built at a cost of about trusses are 1.2 by 1.2m box sections, $423 million. This stadium boasts a state fabricated with thickness varying from of the art Solar PV system produced by 15mm to 60mm. Suntech Power. The 10m deep roof trusses follow a Though the outward appearance of diagonal path criss-crossing each other the stadium received greater attention, and leaving an opening above the athletic inside received relatively less attraction. field in the centre, as shown in Figure 2 Chaotic as it appears, the stadium is (During a design review, the originally really quite elementary in its structural planned retractable roof was eliminated, design, consisting of primary, secondary, increasing the opening in the roof and and tertiary steel members. The 24 reducing the amount of required steel by columns that form the primary system are 30%). Thus the columns and trusses form arranged at regular intervals around the a series of interlocking portal frames, perimeter of the building, forming an efficiently distributing loads to the ellipse and carrying the bulk of the loads foundation. A series of struts transfer axial 250 NBM&CW NOVEMBER 2008 cmyk cmyk China's Olympic Structures Figure 2: A model of Bird’s nest stadium by M/s Arup showing the primary load carrying elements and the secondary and tertiary members (Source: Brodkin, 2008) loads from the curving members of the The inner membrane is made up of PTFE truss to the vertical columns. The joints (polytetrafluor– oethylene) membrane and where the beams transmit their loads to acts as the acoustic ceiling of the stadium the columns are critical and 100 mm and covers an area of 53,000 m2. thick plates are used in the box sections The interior seating bowl itself is a at these locations. conventional structure of reinforced Though the arrangement of primary concrete, elliptical in plan. It has six structural members is regular, the levels of above ground space and two secondary and tertiary members are laid and a half levels below grade. Expansion out randomly (see Figure 2b and c). joints are provided in the bowl which Although they are structurally less divides it into six segments. Many of the important, they are also made up of the outermost columns of the concrete bowl same 1.2 by 1.2 m steel box sections are also inclined to match with the exterior (however the thickness of plates of these steel structure. The structural system was sections varied between 10 mm to made up of pre-cast concrete step-and- 100mm depending on the load carrying seating units spanning to sloped raker capacity). The secondary and tertiary beams. members support the roof cladding and Much thought was given to make the play a vital role in the seismic design.