Bubble-Wrapped “Water Cube” for the Beijing Olympic Games

Beijing’s iconic structure, The “Water Cube,” has been unveiled
recently just in time for the Olympic games in 2008.  The honeycomb
structure appears to be a pool of water from an aerial view, and
purposely created with the intention to host the national swimming
events.

The unusual rectangular structure saturates the outside daylight and
projects through out the space naturally, via each bubble.  At night,
the light radiates from inside out and it is designed to have a
kaleidoscope of colors available, depending on the event.

"Mostly
it is a building of water, so we’ll mainly use the colors of water,"
said Zheng Fang, chief architect with China Construction Designs
International.

The striking structure came to a
total of “1.03 billion yuan ($143.2 million)” and is likely to have a
good return on investment due to tourism dollars during the Olympic
Games.

The "Water Cube" was a unique project for the
Beijing Games in that it was funded by contributions from "overseas
Chinese", including $25 million from late Hong Kong billionaire Henry
Fok and his family.

Click here for the full story on Reuters.

(Images from Archidose.Blogspot.com, photographer Chris Bosse)

("The Water Cube" next to the "Bird’s Nest" to be unveiled in March)

(Exterior facade)

(Interior View)

(Aerial view of "The Water Cube")

(The bright lobby)