High tech features Water Cube

As one of the main venues for the Beijing Olympic Games, the National Aquatics Center blends innovative concepts with the latest high-tech features. In today's feature, we follow the chief architect behind the gigantic "water cube" to find out how it went from a blueprint to reality.

This is the National Stadium, better known as the "Bird's Nest".

And this is the National Aquatics Center, nicknamed the "Water Cube".

These two structures constitute the centerpieces for the Beijing Olympic Games. They are a combination of machismo and elegance. In their designers' eyes, they are the lead actor and actress for an upcoming blockbuster.

Zhao Xiaojun, Chief Architect of National Aquatics Center said "We had to interpret the harmony, gentleness, calmness behind the National Aquatics Center, so we eventually came up with an extreme design, a steady blue "cubic box".

The idea behind "water cube" was created by an international team, made up jointly of China's State Construction Engineering Corporation and Britain's Arup Engineering Group and PTW Architects.

The team met in Sydney and brainstormed various designs, which were all very different.

Zhao Xiaojun said "The designs by our counterparts were shaped in curves or waves, which look very dynamic. But we insisted the design must fit in with the unity and harmony of the whole Olympic Green."

Opinions were widely divided but a compromise had to be made. The "water cube" idea finally emerged.

Zhao Xiaojun said "We initially decided on a design with a wave-shaped roof. The whole structure had a strong shape that was visually impressive. But we thought it was too much in terms of beauty. Then we modified the design with a "cubic box" shape, which became the final design. Eventually, it became the winning design. Everyone was excited at that time."