I have gathered a variety of different plans and documents on “The Water Cube” also known as the Beijing National Aquatics Center, in Beijing, China. The fascinating perspective that appears the most often is one of glorification and hyperbole, making the building seem grander and more advanced than in actuality. This is a common theme among most of the Beijing Olympic buildings.
The architects of the structure are PTW Architects, which is based in Sydney, Australia. They drew inspiration for the project from soap bubbles and ice cubes. The bubbles lending to the form of the façade and the ice being translated into its texture and optics. Below are the plans, sketches, and dynamics of the building that I have discovered in my research of the project.
The beginnings of my drawings have been to figure out the basic dimensions of the building, which has proven difficult. This is due to the fact that the building is built around multiple different aquatic venues, each of which requires its own set of specific services and spacial affordances. The flow of the building is the one consistency, however, each corridor and hall has its own specific width and length. It is hard to find much symmetry both in plan and section. Below are the initial drawings under development.
