The National Aquatics Center or Water Cube, one of the flagship sites of the Beijing Olympic, was inaugurated at the Olympic Park at the end of January after 4 years of work. The results are beyond compare.

In one word, it's massive. Unveiled on January 28^th, the National Aquatics Center , or Water Cube, was put to use three days later with its first international swimming competition as part of the pre-Olympic tournament "Good Luck Beijing". The Australian architectural firm PTW built the marvelous structure packed with technology located on the North 4th Ring Road.

Taxis stops in front of the western gate of the Olympic Park, which contains the Water Cube as well as the "Bird Nest", the flagship  stadium of the Beijing Olympic Games. But unfortunately, you will have to brave the cold winds and make a detour to the opposite door for this entry is restricted. This is because the passageway connecting the two wings is still under construction. What extends in front of you is a vast construction site with heaps of sheet metal and metal bars.

These are mere details compared to the beauty of the building. Once past the security gates, a slight smell of chlorine pervades the hall of faded whites. The columns, partitions and walls play with the opacity, translucency and the transparency of the glass which is punctuated by pieces of acidulously colored mosaic. A flood of light illuminates a spiral staircase whose access is denied by a panel, and leads to a cafeteria.

A key feature of this cube its sheer size, 177 metres long and 30 metres high, covering an area of 110,000 square metres. The building, which required more than four years of work, is covered by more than 3,000 transparent plastic air bags of various sizes. Inside, volunteers dressed in a black and white tracksuit jacket, a cap and a blue jeans, help spectators find their seats among the 17,000 blue, white and grey seats.

A real stunt

In the competition hall, the pool which will host the main events of swimming and synchronized swimming, is divided into eight water lines. Beside it, the diving pool and the diving boards are surrounded by white opaque tubes waiting for their moment of glory. Out of reach of the spectators view, another pool, connected by a tunnel from the main hall, is made available to the swimmers. The ceiling and walls continue the theme of cross-cut bubbles through which a complex frame appears.

To the naked eye, it is impossible to imagine the magnitude of this Olympic project approximated  at a value of 136 million euros, and financed mainly by Chinese living abroad. A tidy sum for a marvel combining aesthetics, technology and ecology. In fact, the outer membrane covering the Cube is entirely fabricated of ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene), a substance able to withstand strong earthquakes and high pressures.

The space between the two layers of air bags is closed to prevent any possible overheating. The Center is also equipped with a lighting system consisting of light-emitting diodes. The building can change color depending on the weather and the time of day. On a clear day, it is blue during the daytime, becoming yellow after dark. On days with bad weather, it is white.

From an ecological perspective, the Cube has 9 points of potable water, and a recovery system installed water on the roof, adding to it the capacity to reuse 10,500 m3 of water per year. A water sanitation system was also built in the second basement to ensure the highest possible quality.

Only seven months away from the Beijing Olympic Games, the municipality is already thinking about the future of the "Water Cube". This February, it should give its name to a brand of mineral water. The building itself will become the largest pool in China open to the public.