The Bird's Nest was home to the 2008 Summer Olympics. Its construction cost an estimate of 423 million american dollars. An interesting side note, the stadium was built at 1/10 of what the construction would have cost in the U.S. As of today, it is the largest steel structure in the world. It was specifically designed for use as an Olympic Stadium, with construction starting in 2003. 5 years later, the Stadium opened for use in the 2008 olympics. Now that the Olympics are over, the stadium will be used for American football games. There are plans to build a mall and hotel nearby, so that the stadium's use will increase. "China wanted to have something new for this very important stadium," stated Li Xinggang, chief architect of China Architecture Design and Research Group (CADG). The design is surely different, since nothing like this has ever been built before. The building is not one joint structure, but actually two structures, consisting of a red concrete seating bowl, and the recognizable "Bird's Nest" around it. This building scheme has it's roots in an architectural design known as Chinese ceramics. Below is a video that outlines how the Bird's Nest is built. It can tell you better than I can.
The Bird's Nest was home to the 2008 Summer Olympics. Its construction cost an estimate of 423 million american dollars. An interesting side note, the stadium was built at 1/10 of what the construction would have cost in the U.S. As of today, it is the largest steel structure in the world. It was specifically designed for use as an Olympic Stadium, with construction starting in 2003. 5 years later, the Stadium opened for use in the 2008 olympics. Now that the Olympics are over, the stadium will be used for American football games. There are plans to build a mall and hotel nearby, so that the stadium's use will increase. "China wanted to have something new for this very important stadium," stated Li Xinggang, chief architect of China Architecture Design and Research Group (CADG). The design is surely different, since nothing like this has ever been built before. The building is not one joint structure, but actually two structures, consisting of a red concrete seating bowl, and the recognizable "Bird's Nest" around it. This building scheme has it's roots in an architectural design known as Chinese ceramics. Below is a video that outlines how the Bird's Nest is built. It can tell you better than I can.