8/3/2015

WaterCubeNationalAquaticsCentreDesignBuildNetwork

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WaterCubeNational
AquaticsCentre,China
27

KeyData

InJuly2003,AustralianbasedarchitectsPTWandengineering
firmOveArupwonthecontracttodesignandbuildthe2008
OlympicNationalSwimmingCentreinBeijing.
Constructionofthe$140mlandmarkproject,nicknamedthe
"WaterCube",beganinDecember2003,andwascompletedin
January2008.The80,000msiteissituatedoppositethemain
stadiumintheOlympicGreenPrecinct,whichliesatthe
northernmostendofBeijing'snorthsouthaxis.
Thedesignoftheprojectassociateswater,asastructuraland
thematicleitmotiv,withthesquare,importantinChinese
traditionandmythology.Indaytime,theWaterCubeshinesas
abluetransparentspectacle,whileaftersunsetitisacrystal
pieceofarchitecturewithLEDlitbubbles.
Conceptuallythesquareboxandtheinteriorspacesarecarved
outofanundefinedclusteroffoambubbles,symbolisinga
conditionofnaturethatistransformedintoaconditionof
culture.Theoverallappearanceoftheaquaticcentreisacube
ofwatermolecules.
WaterCubedesignhistory
ArchitectsPTWandengineeringgroupOve
Arup,bothbasedinSydney,designedthe
WaterCubeinpartnershipwiththeChina
StateConstructionEngineeringCorporation
(CSCEC)andtheCSCECShenzhen
DesignInstitute(CSCEC+DESIGN).
Aswellasprovidingamultifunctional
aquaticscentre,thebriefrequiredextensive
useofdigitaltechnology,energyreduction
andwatersavingmethods,aswellasthe
incorporationofnewconstructionmaterials.

"TheWater
Cubehas
morethan
4,000
bubbles,the
largestof
whichis9m
indiameter."

Withproposalsfromtencountries,includingChina,theUS,
Japan,theUKandGermany,threedesignswereshortlistedfor
thedesigncompetition.TheseweresubmittedbyChinese
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architects,ShanghaiXianDaiArchitecturalDesign,Rafael
VinolyArchitectsfromtheUSandthesubsequentcollaborative
ChineseAustralianwinningdesign.
ThewinningWaterCube,thefocalpointoftheswimming
centregrounds,measures176moneachside,risingtoaheight
of31m.Itholds6,000permanentseatswithcapacityforan
additional11,000temporaryseatstoaccommodateOlympic
Gamesspectators.
Designdetails
TheOveArup/PTWdesignplaysonthegeometryofwater
bubbleswithinasquareform.Thestructure'sshapeis
specificallydesignedtoworkinharmonywiththecircularmain
OlympicstadiumbytheSwissarchitecturalteamofHerzog&
deMeuronArchitektenwithChinaArchitectureDesignand
ResearchGroupandArupSportLondon,knownasthe"Bird's
Nest",givingtheareaavisual"yinandyang"balance.
Thesquareformwasalsousedinacknowledgementofits
significanceinChineseculture,architectureandtownplanning.
TherearetwopartstotheWaterCube'sstructuralframework
internalandexternal.Theexternalstructureformstheactual
roof,ceilingandwallsandcomprisesaflatwebofrectangular
boxedsections.Thesesectionsarethencladwiththeinflatable
materialtransparent"teflon"materialknownasethylene
tetrafluoroethylene(ETFE).
Theinternalsteelframeisbasedontheuniquegeometryof
biologicalcellsorsoapbubbles.OveArupandPTWbasedthis
"soapbubbles"structuralconceptonasolutionfromtwoIrish
professorsofphysicsatTrinityCollege,Dublin,knownasthe
WeairePhelanstructure,wherebyarecurringpatternof
polyhedronsispackedtogethertooccupyathreedimensional
spaceinthemostefficientwaypossible.
Over22,000stainlesssteelmembersformthesidesofthese
"bubbles",whichareweldedatthejointstomorethan12,000
sphericalsteelnodes.Thebenefitofthisframedesign,aswell
asresemblingwaterbubbles,isthatitisideallysuitedtothe
seismicconditionsfoundinBeijing.
WaterCubechallenges
Oneofthechallengesencounteredbythedesignerswas
convincingChineseauthoritiesofthevalueofETFE.

"TheWater
Cubewas
oneofthe
twomain
venuesfor
the2008

Therewerealotofmythsabouttheuseof
ETFE,regardingthematerialgrowingmould
andbeingineffectiveinmutingexternal
noise,whichhadtobedispelled.PTW
managingdirectorJohnBilmonandhis
teamputtheclaimstobedbyconducting
extensivetestsandmakingsome
adjustmentstothematerialthatwould

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reducetheacousticimpactofoutsidenoise.
Thematerialwasalsoshowntobesuperior
intermsoflightingandthermalefficiency,
andwillprotecttheinternalsteelmembers
fromexposuretotheharshchlorinated
aquaticenvironmentpreventingtheircorrosion.

Beijing
Summer
Olympics."

TheuseofETFEwillhelpthebuildinglastforabout100years.
ThetransmissionoflightandstrengthoftheETFEmembrane
deterioratesfarlessthanothermaterials.Themembraneis
resistanttofireandsevereheat,andpossessesductilityand
crushingresistance.Itisselfcleaninginnatureasthefriction
coefficientofthematerialpreventsthedustfromformingalayer
onthematerialandraincaneasilyclearawaythedust.
Thebuilding'senveloperequired100,000mofETFE,makingit
thelargestETFEstructureintheworld.TheETFEusedwas
producedbyVectorFoiltecofGermanyandYuandaGroupof
Shengyang,China.
Thevenue'sdesignasanenclosedswimminggymnasium
couldhaveledtohighhumidity.Thiswasaddressedbytakinga
newapproachtotheairconditioningsystem.Astringent
temperatureandhumiditycontrolsystem,andarecycledhot
watersystemwereincorporatedintothedesign.Thesehelpto
airconditionthepublicareaandtheswimmingpool.Indoorand
outdoorairrecyclingsystems,solarenergysystemsanddeck
ventilationsystemsmaintainacomfortableclimateandhumidity
of50%60%inthevenue.
Thedesignersalsohadtopreventdewdropfromtheceiling,
whichcouldaffecttheswimmersinthepoolordiversonthe
springboard.TheETFEandairconditioningsystemshave
partiallyhelpedtopreventdewdropping.Moreover,the
building'sairsupply,returninletsandexhaustoutletsimprove
theventilationintheupperspacesofthebuilding.
Environmentalconsiderations
Whereswimmingpoolsystemsusuallypumpwaterintothe
localwastewaternetworksastheybackwashtheirfiltration
systems,theBeijingschemerunsthebackwashwaterthrough
atwostagefiltrationsystembeforereturningitbacktothe
swimmingpools.Thissystemishighlywaterefficientintheface
ofBeijing'ssporadicrainfallpatternsandpotentiallowwater
levels.
Theequipmentusedforthewatersystemwasnotthespecific
equipmentoriginallysuggestedbythedesigners.Locally
manufacturedhydraulicequipmentthatmetdesign
requirementswasusedinitsplace.
TheETFEcladdingletsinsolarheat,reducingenergycostsby
upto30%.ThedesignoftheWaterCubeallows140,000tof
recycledwatertobesavedayear.
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Thespacebetweentheairpillowwallshasbeencompletely
sealedoffcreatingalayerofinsulation.Duringsummer,a1m
highventregulatestheindoortemperatureofthebuilding
throughheatexchangebydrawingouttheinsidewarmairand
lettingintheoutsidecoolair.Theventissealedoffduring
wintermaintainingthewarmtemperatureinsidethevenue.
Construction
Atthetimeofdesign,PTWandOveArup
envisagedthehighlydetailedstructural
memberstobemanufacturedoffsiteand
boltedtogetheronsite,howeveramore
traditionalconstructionapproachwastaken
bypartnersCSCEC.

"TheWater
Cubeis
largestETFE
structurein
theworld."

Theroofandwallswereconstructedineastweststripsonsite,
whichwerethenmovedintoposition.Thisenabledworkto
proceedonthebuildingandroofconstructionsimultaneously
whilepreventingtheneedforanycranesorscaffoldingwithin
thepoolhalls,whichmayhavedamagedthepoolstructures
andfinishes,buttheapproach,saysBilmon,mayhave
contributedtothedelayedcompletiondate.
ThelandmarkbuildinghasbeenusedsincetheGamesasa
multipurposeleisureandswimmingcentrethat,aswellas
swimmingpools,includesagym,iceskatingfacilitiesanda
cinema.
TheWaterCubehostedtheswimming,divingandsynchronised
swimmingeventsduringtheBeijingSummerOlympics2008.
TheBeijingOlympicssaw25worldrecordsbrokeninthe
AquaticsCentre.TheWaterCubehostedsoundandlight
showsinsummer2009andbecameaballettheatretohost
SwanLake.Itwasclosedtothepublicforrenovationsfrom15
October2009.

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TheWaterCube
exteriorismade
upofatransparent
dualETFEcushion
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envelope.

TheWaterCubeis
nowusedasan
athleticscentrefor
citizensofBeijing.

Thedesignofthe
landscapethat
surroundsthe
WaterCubeis
inspiredbythe
conceptofacube
beingdroppedinto
abodyofwater.

TheWaterCube,
thefocalpointof
theaquaticscentre
grounds,
measures176m
oneachside,
risingtoaheightof
31m.

TheWaterCube's
internalsteel
frameisbasedon
theunique
geometryof
biologicalcellsor
soapbubbles.

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Aswellas
resemblingwater
bubbles,The
WaterCube's
frameisideally
suitedtothe
seismicconditions
foundinBeijing.

Theeventual
acceptanceofthe
futuristiclooking
ETFEisindicative
ofChina'sforward
thinkingmentality.

OveArupand
PTWbasedthe
"soapbubbles"
structuralconcept
onasolutionfrom
twoIrish
professorsof
physicsatTrinity
College,Dublin,
knownasthe
WeairePhelan
structure.

TheWaterCube
willbeusedboth
beforeandafter
theGamesasa
multipurpose
leisureand
swimmingcentre.
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