Bird’s Nest Design and construction
2 min readBeijing National Stadium（BNS）was a joint venture among architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Herzog&de Meuron，project architect Stefan Marbach and CADRG which was led by chief architect Li Xinggang.During their first meeting in 2003
at Basel，the group decided to do something other than Herzog and de Meuron had traditionally designed.“China wanted to have something new for this very important stadium.”Li stated.In an effort to design a stadium that was“porous”while also being“a collective building，a public vessel”，the team studied Chinese ceramics.This line of thought brought the team to the“nest scheme”.The stadium consists of two independent structures，a red concrete seating bowl and the outer steel frame around it.
In an attempt to hide steel supports for the retractable roof，required in the bidding process，the team developed the“additional steel”to blend the supports into the rest of the stadium.Twenty-four trussed columns encase the inner bowl，each one weighing 1，000 tons.Despite random appearance，each half of the stadium is nearly identical.After a collapse of a roof at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport，Beijing reviewed all major projects.It was decided to eliminate the retractable roof，the original inspiration for the“nest”design，as well as 9，000 seats from the design.The removal of the elements helped to bring the construction budget from an original $500 million to $290 million，.With the removal of the retractable roof，the building was lightened，which helped it stand up to seismic activity；however，the upper section of the roof was altered to protect fans from weather.Due to the stadium’s outward appearance，it wasnicknamed”The Bird’s Nest”.The phrase was first used by Herzog&de Meuron，though the pair still believes“there should be many waysof perceiving a building.”“The design is a compliment”Li explained，“In China，the bird’s nest is very expensive；it’s something you eat on special occasions.”
Ground was broken，at the Olympic Green，for Beijing National Stadium on December 24，2003.All f10，-000 tons of steel were made in China.On May 14，2008 the grass field of 7，811 square meters was laid in 24 hours.The field is a modular turf system by Green Tech ITM.Beijing National Stadium officially opened at a ceremony on June 28，2008.
