The Beijing National Aquatics Centre, popularly known as the Water Cube, will host the swimming, diving and synchronised swimming events of the 2008 Olympics.
The stadium was jointly designed by Arup, China State Construction & Engineering Corporation (CSCES) and the CSCEC Shenzhen Design Institute. The ground was broken on Christmas Eve in 2003, and construction completed in December 2007.
The outer wall design mimics the natural formation of soap bubbles, which is based on the Weaire-Phelan structure into how soap bubbles might be arranged in an infinite array. The material used is called ETFE, a fluorocarbon-based polymer with high strength and corrosion resistance, as well as toxic free if ignited.
Another night photo of Water Cube (Image by Moderntime)
Water Cube in day time (Image by Emily)
Water Cube and the Bird’s Nest, the main stadia (Image by Peng)
