P117 - China - Beijing National Stadium

The National Stadium(Bird's Nest), Beijing, China

Beijing National Stadium, also known as the National Stadium (国家体育场), or colloquially as the "Bird's Nest" (鸟巢), is a stadium in Beijing, China. The stadium was designed for use throughout the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Located in the Olympic Green, the US$423 million stadium is the world's largest steel structure. The design was awarded to a submission from the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron in April 2003, after a bidding process that included 13 final submissions. The design, which originated from the study of Chinese ceramics, implemented steel beams in order to hide supports for the retractable roof; giving the stadium the appearance of a "Bird's nest". Ai Weiwei, the artistic consultant, played a critical role in pushing the design to have unique Chinese characteristics. Ironically, the retractable roof was later removed from the design after inspiring the stadium's most recognizable aspect. Ground was broken in December 2003 and the stadium officially opened in June 2008. A shopping mall and a hotel are planned to be constructed to increase use of the stadium, which has had trouble attracting events, football and otherwise, after the Olympics.

國家體育場(英文：Beijing National Stadium)是2008年北京奧運會的主場館，由於於獨特造型又俗稱「鳥巢」。體育場在奧運會期間設有10萬個座位，承辦該屆奧運會的開、閉幕式，以及田徑同足球等比賽項目。奧運會後座位數將減至8萬個。

國家體育場長330米，寬220米，高度為69.2米，佔地25萬平方米。 運用高達4.5萬噸鋼建成的體育館，建築費用高達人民幣35億元。 此館於2003年12月動土，2004年3月正式開工。但因龐大的建築經費而不得不於2004年8月暫時停工。經過一連串的討論與修改，原計劃中體育場的上蓋被取消，專家稱這不但會使體育場更加安全，同時也可以消減部分開支。最終體育場於2005年初恢復開工，並於2008年6月28日完工。

References sources : Wikipedia