Before the National Stadium, Herzog and De Meuron were best known for their work while converting London’s Bankside Power Station into the Tate Modern, an art museum, and designing the tyre-shaped Allianz Arena in Munich that held the 2006 World Cup.(Beijing Olympics: The Bird’s Nest Stadium). The goal was to make the stadium look like a “Nest” to represent the embrace and nursing of all human beings. The “Nest” design was created by Li Xinggang, of China Architecture Design and Research Group, and became the official design in April of 2003 when the proposed model was approved by a panel of professionals not just once but twice.(Beijing National Stadium). In order to get the look of a “porous” object that could be efficient, stable, and used at the same time, the team studied different forms of chinese ceramics . (The Chinese National Stadium In Beijing – The Bird’s Nest …show more content…
It is considered to be the best arena worldwide and also one of the most expensive in history. (Beijing Olympics: The Bird’s Nest Stadium). For one, it is the largest steel structure in the world, containing 26 miles of wrapped steel, which weighs a total of 42,000 tons.(Top Ten Modern Engineering Marvels in the World). On top of that the roof that leans over all the stands weighs about 45,000 tons.(Beijing National Stadium). Within the steel frame is a huge red concrete shaped bowl, all used for seating. The frame and the concrete bowl are actually split into two totally separate pieces that are 50 feet apart.(Top Ten Modern Engineering Marvels in the World). It is designed to last at least 100 years and also, because Beijing is located on of the most active seismic zones, it can withstand up to a force 8 magnitude Earthquake. (Beijing Olympics: The Bird’s Nest Stadium). This was proven by Arup, a group of structural engineers who helped on the whole project, used advanced seismic analysis to test the stadiums strength under various earthquake conditions and make sure it could withstand major shocks and forces.(National Stadium (Bird’s Nest)). Not only that it’s also the most environmentally friendly and efficient stadium in the world, it has underground cisterns that collect and store rainwater for irrigation and use in restrooms and in other facilities in the stadium. (Top Ten Modern Engineering Marvels in