实用艺术英unit 7 C.pptVIP

Unit 7 Text C Bird’s Nest – An Architectural Breakthrough 1 The Beijing National Stadium, also known as the bird’s nest hosts the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympics Games, the track and field competitions, and the football finals. After the Olympics, the stadium will become a large-scale sports and entertainment facility for the residents of Beijing -- an architectural landmark and Olympic legacy. 2 Located at the southern part of the Olympic Green in Beijing, the National Stadium, occupying an area of 21 hectares, has a floor space of 258,000 square meters. Its seating capacity amounts to 91,000, including 11,000 temporary seats. 3 In 2002 Government officials engaged architects worldwide in a design competition. Pritzker Prize -winning architects Herzog de Meuron collaborated with Arup Sport and China Architecture Design Research Group to win the competition. 4 The main body of the National Stadium has a design life of 100 years. Its fire resistance capability is first-rate, and it can withstand an eight-magnitude earthquake. The water-resistance capability of its underground project is also first-rate. 5 The main body of the National Stadium is a colossal saddle-shaped elliptic steel structure weighing 42,000 tons. It is 333 meters long from north to south, 294 meters wide from east to west, and 69 meters tall. 6 Structural elements mutually support each other and converge into a grid formation, just like a bird’s nest with interlocking branches and twigs. Being a seven-story shear wall system, the stadium’s stand has a concrete framework. The upper part of the stand and the stadium’s steel structure are separated from each other, but both are based on a joint footing. The roof of the National Stadium is covered by a double-layer membrane structure. An ETFE acoustic ceiling is attached to the side walls of the inner ring. 7 The National Stadium is a complex structure, posing great difficul