In a few months, tens of thousands of construction workers will be laboring around this site in northern Beijing to build a landmark for the city.

A stadium resembling a bird's nest will be the major venue of the 2008 Olympics in the capital.

Covering an area of over 140,000 square meters, the venue will be named National Stadium, and is designed to accommodate a maximum of 100,000 spectators.

The stadium comes as the first of a number of architectural projects for the 2008 Olympics that will unfold over the next three years.

Ever since Beijing was confirmed to host the 2008 Olympics, the competition for architectural projects has become fierce.

Thirty-seven venues, among which 32 are in Beijing, as well as 58 training sites will be built for the 2008 Beijing Games. The facilities will cost US$1.65 billion to construct.

The US$500-million National Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies are set to be held, is the centerpiece of the ambitious construction plan Beijing has set forth for 2008.

Open bidding has been adopted to select contractors for almost all of the projects, with architectural design being probably the most competitive area.

Tenders came from almost every major architectural firm in the world, all submitting their proposals for the various sporting facilities that will constitute new landmarks in northern Beijing.

"These sporting facilities together may not only change the skyline of Beijing, but will have enormous influence over the residents' perspective of the city landscape and sports," said Mei Jikui, an architect with a wealth of experience in stadium design.

Centerpiece

At the center of the design competitions is the National Stadium, which, for its magnitude and importance, has set the tone for all Olympic Games architecture planned in Beijing.

The current design comes from the Swiss-based firm Herzog & de Meuron, in collaboration with China's Institute of Architecture Design and Research.

It garnered praise out of a total of 44 schemes and won over the majority of the appraisal panel, consisting of 13 experts, after two rounds of selection and a public display.

Dubbed "nest" by the media ever since it was unveiled to the public, the design features a nest-like enclosure and a retractable roof that will totally revolutionize the traditional concept of a modern stadium.

"Everyone was surprised at the first viewing of the design," said Huang Yan, deputy director of Beijing Municipal Bureau of City Planning who has been involved in the bidding process. "It's so unique that you cannot take your eyes off it."

The design indeed stood out among the 44 candidates presented to the panelists early this year; it went through the second round, and beat the other two finalists as the ultimate choice.

The panel credited the designers with having consciously broken away from what they call "the usual technocratic stadiums" that have tended to dominate recent sporting events.

Their design was touted as "a search for poetry" by some, yet dismissed by others, mostly ordinary residents, as messy and incomprehensible.

The level of dispute on the matter boiled over when the three finalists, including the "nest," were presented for a public viewing this past March.

Voting was carried out at the presentation to solicit opinions from the public.

Later vote counting reportedly shows that the "nest" still took the lead, but not by as wide a margin as in the panel voting.

The professional comments from China's architect community are overwhelmingly positive, which was reflected by the panelists' voting results: eight for, two against and two abstentions.

Given the fact that almost every major public architectural design in China that went through international bidding in recent years has come under fire from both the professional and public spheres, it is surprising that the "nest" is the least criticized in technical terms.

For example, the National Theatre, which is currently under construction, has come under pointed criticism from Chinese architects for its surreal, egg-like look and hefty price tag.

Yet the "nest" scheme, though featuring equally distinctive looks, is a totally different story.

Brilliant design

Guan Zhaoye, a distinguished architect and professor from Tsinghua University, said the design sets it apart from the rest with its brilliant, seamless combination of functionality and structure.

In fact, Guan is one of the panelists who voted for it.

Mei, who is also on the panel, said a good stadium design requires not only creativity, but sufficient care for its specific function in addition to its cost.

Like tailoring, consideration should not only be given to the patterns and colors, but also to the wearer's physique.

The "nest" scheme satisfied these requirements, he said.

"At first glance, the scheme is surprising," he said, "but a closer look may find that it makes sense. The design not only is close to people's hearts in its appearance, but it also makes onlookers feel at peace."

If few disagreements over its appearance have been raised in professional circles, the debate over the retractable roof has gained steam after the scheme was chosen.

The roof, designed in case of bad weather, would cost over 500 million yuan (US$60 million), or one-eighth of the total cost.

The giant roof's rolling-out mechanism may be easily susceptible to breakdowns. "Simply put, its use is disproportionate to the cost," Mei said.

However, he admitted that the design may set a tone and would inevitably influence the tastes of the public towards Olympic architecture.

In fact, that influence has already been felt at the public presentation of the candidate schemes for the National Swimming Center held over last weekend. Construction on the aquatic facilities is expected to start at the end of this year.

Local media reports have quoted some viewers as saying the 10 candidate schemes appear to be too conservative, compared with the National Stadium.

"It suggests that people's tastes have diversified and changed with the times, which in itself is a good thing," Mei said.

The designers of the scheme are now drawing up more detailed architectural plans, with construction work set to begin on December 24, said Wang Yuxi, general manager of the Beijing State-owned Assets Management Company, the official operator of the mammoth project.

(China Daily July 12, 2003)