The innovative Beijing Olympic Stadium, the National Stadium, is often called the Bird's Nest. Composed of a complex mesh of steel bands, the Beijing Olympic Stadium incorporates elements of Chinese art and culture.
Adjacent to the Beijing Olympic Stadium is another innovative new structure, the National Aquatic Centre, also known as the Water Cube.
Builders and Designers for the Beijing Olympic Stadium:
- Herzog & de Meuron, architects
- Ai Weiwei, Artistic Consultant
- China Architecture Design & Research Group
- 36 km of unwrapped steel
- 330 metres (1,082 feet) long
- 220 metres (721 feet) wide
- 69.2 metres (227 feet) tall
- 258,000 square metres (2,777,112 square feet) of space
- Usable area of 204,000 square metres (2,195,856 square feet)
- Seating for up to 91,000 spectators during the Olympics. (Seating reduced to 80,000 after the Games.)
- Construction cost approximately 3.5 billion yuan ($423 million USD)
Learn More About the Beijing National Stadium:
- Interview with architect Jacques Herzog: Building Beijing's Olympic Stadium (from Spiegel Online)
- Review in the New York Times: Olympic stadium with a design to remember
- Official Site: The National Stadium in Beijing