Architecture at the Beijing Olympics
This article looks into the design and development of Beijing’s architecture for the Olympic Games and where the inspiration came from to create such stylish and innovative designs.
With the
Olympics being held in Beijing
this year Westerners have seen a fierce change of architecture.
New
additions to the skyline include a new air terminal by Norman Foster, Herzog
& de Meuron’s National Stadium aka the bird’s nest, PTW’s National Aquatics
Center with a translucent
exterior, Paul Andreu’s egg-shaped National Theater and Rem Koolhaas’ CCTV
headquarters with its interconnected slanting forms.
Each of
these new buildings intensifies and embodies the struggle Beijing has over further public space but
have achieved what they initially set out to create which was to give shape and
substance to the nation’s identity.
A good
example of this is Norman Foster’s airport terminal which is the largest in the
world and is one of the purest creations.
The form which is similar to two boomerangs placed side by side has been
compared to that of a dragon. Its
original architectural concept and design was inspired by that of the Tempelhof Airport
in Berlin in 1930 which was established as the
gateway to new Europe. The terminal building exudes the glamour of
flying with sweeping shapes and a stylish interior. Foster has taken the original design and
created an idea of mobility and travel to the next level. On entering the
terminal you are guided by embedded lights in the ceiling and encouraged to the
ramped floors and led over bridges to the elevated platform. From there you have the option for your
onward travel with all roads, trains, subways and canals meeting in one central
place creating a travel hub into the city.
Beijing has been completely transformed for
the Olympic Games 2008 since it was awarded it in 2001. Like some cities undergoing regeneration the
drive from the new airport terminal towards the centre was surrounded by ugly
new towers which is a real shame for architecture and the city as most were of
poor construction quality and only widened the gap been the rich and the poor.
With Great Britain
having been awarded the 2012 Olympic Games what architectural wonders will we
see , what cutting edge design from which established architects? Watch to see how the skyline changes with new
buildings rising.
Beijing
have created designs to aspire to.
About the author
Tags: air terminal, airport terminal, andreus, architectural concept, boomerangs, innovative designs, national aquatics center, nations identity, new additions, new buildings, new europe, norman foster, olympic games 2008, onward travel, public space, rem koolhaas, stylish interior, tempelhof airport, travel hub, westerners
Posted
on
Sunday, August 24th, 2008 at 12:41 pm under
