The Water Cube, Bubble-Clad Olympic Wonder
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY 
on 01.28.08
It looks blue, but it's green, and it's here. As big, eye-catching Olympics architecture goes, nothing may be as sustainable as the Beijing National Aquatics Center, or Water Cube, the latest cutting-edge building to open on the enormous construction site that is China. Taking the structure of soap bubbles as inspiration (and mimicking nature's way of filling 3-d space most efficiently), PTW Architects and Arup gave the $200 million Cube an elegant, light-weight design: a rectangular box covered in iridescent bubble wrap.
But it does more than look cool. The 100,000 square meters of the Teflon-like translucent plastic ETFE that make up the building's bubble cladding allow in more solar heat than glass, making it easier to heat the building, and resulting in a 30 percent reduction in energy costs. That's especially important for a swimming pool, which requires an enormous amount of heating. (Though the building's ETFE was manufactured abroad, meaning more pollution in construction than would there have been with locally available materials, designers emphasize that the energy savings are substantial, equivalent to covering the roof in solar panels.)
Dive below for more brilliant pictures -- and video.
Air-tight, the futuristic LED-lit bubbles not only act as adjustable insulators, turning the building into a greenhouse, but also serve as storehouses for warm air that can be pumped into the Cube as needed. Though it's only .008 of an inch thick, ETFE, which has been used to a lesser extent in the UK's Eden Project and Germany's Allianz Arena can hold up to 300 times its weight. Without trussing, it can span greater distances than glass, and costs up to 70 percent less to install. Though critics say it will need frequent scrubbing (Beijing's grit had clearly left its mark on the building today), the material is billed as more self-cleaning than glass, and can be recycled.
But the Cube's facade probably won't need to be recycled any time soon. Unlike the similarly stunning, steel-encumbered National Stadium nearby, which some fear could go from a "Bird's Nest" (its nickname) to a "white elephant" once the Games are done, the Water Cube is set for a lengthy, sustainable afterlife (its construction hasn't killed anybody either, at least officially). "What it is for the next 30 years is more crucial than what it is during the Olympics," PTW's John Pauline, one of the building's lead architects, tells Treehugger.
"It's very common in Olympic planning to focus on the now rather than the future. More important is what happens in the next phase [of the Water Cube's life]," which will see the building converted into a recreation center for nearby residents. "We dedicated only a third of the Water Cube to the swimming pool. When visitors come after the Olympics, they'll be able to play a game of tennis, go on the waterslide, and so on." Upstairs, the Cube features a cafe.
More Water Cube Pictures and Video on Page 2!
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I don't know about the other buildings, but I sure like the bubble one!
I wonder how sustainable it is building new buildings every two years for the Olympics. Even if this is "sustainably constructed" if you step back and look at the larger picture - really it would make more sustainable sense to use the same facilities where possible for several seasons before building new ones.
So treehuggers what do you say? I think it's stunning and i was going to mention it's glaring light pollution issue (being a giant glowing cube and all) but i think that point is irrelevant in a city with so much air pollution that it's population have most likely never seen the stars. Oh and I hear that it was built on top of a secret prison where the government tortures imprisoned dissidents. Just saying...
Thanks to You to send me the items I´ve been wanted...
It's an amazing building, lucky people who get to use it! The projection thing is really cool! Its like a bubble building! very exciting!
ps one of the videos is no longer available...
I wanna know about all the biggest and latest infrastructures and developments
i'm new here. can you telll me that this water cube is it a intelligent building? and why it would be built? just for olympic? or having others purposes?
I love the design and look of the water cube. I keep telling my family if I ever could get a 3D water cube on a smaller scale, and the top opened and I could like put water in the pool so I could have my very own water cube, I would. Also, I love that it is so earth friendly because of global Warming.
I want one!
Congratulations to the eco-architects, artists, structural and materials engineers, manufacturers, construction workers, geologists, and so many more for their farsighted designs,materials, and accomplishments in Beijing. What a wonderful green achievement and example for the entire world. All is seen by billions of people the world over now and will be for years, a monument for green design, for centuries to come. The international competition for designs brought west and east together brilliantly. This reflects great political and international cooperation.Thank you to the Olympics, China and the International Community. At the same time, gratitude and condolences to the individuals who lost their ancient alleyways and homes at the sites of the Olympic stadiums. Now: on to cleaning up the air!
Hello,I just wanted to let you know that my computer teacher (cant mention his name) haha. Is making me do a report on the water cube so thank you oh so much for putting alot of infomation on here..
Peace and Love :)
Mikkah