Buildings
Beijing Olympic Stadium Project On Hold
(archrecord.construction.com - 08/13/04)
By Daniel
Elsea
Image Courtesy Herzog &
de Meuron |
The signature project of the 2008 Olympic
Games in Beijing, a massive stadium designed by Swiss architects
Herzog & de Mueron with British engineer Arup, has been
halted. "The construction of the national stadium, one
of the sports venues for the 2008 Olympic Games, has been
suspended temporarily," said Diana Dai, a spokeswoman
for BOCOG, the agency administrating the games.
The project has fallen victim to budget
and feasibility concerns. "Construction experts claim
that the plan will be difficult to realize and is expected
to consume a massive 50,000 tons of iron and steel,"
said a report posted by Xinhua, the state news agency, on
13 August. Herzog & de Mueron’s stadium is clad in
a web-like series of massive steel beams that undulate to
create, what many call, a vast bird's nest. The
stadium was to have 80,000 seats at an estimated cost exceeding
half a billion dollars. It was the planned venue of the opening
and closing ceremonies.
Olympic organizers say the national stadium
project has not been shelved entirely and that a revised program
will soon be announced. The new scheme will be much more modest.
The Olympic organizing committee hopes to tone down the scale
and expense of the Olympic plans, which have been markedly
ambitious. This is in line with a recent change in Chinese
government policy that aims to cool down the country's
substantial building spree.
"The idea of hosting a 'prudent'
Olympic Games is the main reason for the changes," Dai
told RECORD.
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