The National Stadium, known as the “Bird’s Nest,” will serve as the main venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The structural form of the roof is described as a ”nest.” The stadium combines a sense of chaos with one of order. The structure appears to be random, but repeating patterns can be seen in the interwoven series of beams that interconnect in much the same way as twigs do in a bird’s nest.
This weightlessness is not pure illusion. The irregular nature of the structure meant looking for new methods of designing structural steel sections in order to minimize weight and make it feasible for the stadium to support its roof.—ARUP
READ♥ ARUP: Building the Bird’s Nest [PDF]
RELATED LINKS
Beijing National Stadium Official Web Site
