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A file photo taken on
Feburary 3 this year shows the construction site of the National
Swimming Center. (newsphoto)
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Construction resumed yesterday on Beijing's Olympic centrepiece.
Work kicked off again on the National Stadium which resembles a
bird nest in shape and will host the opening and closing ceremonies for
the 2008 Olympic Games, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of
the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) announced yesterday.
Track and
field events will also be held there.
Construction of the stadium started in December 2003, but suspended in
July after the vaulted roof of a new passenger terminal at Paris' Charles
de Gaulle airport collapsed in May, killing four.
The collapse led some domestic experts to express worries over the
safety of the original design of the National Stadium, a steel
construction designed by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de
Meuron.
According to an official press release by BOCOG
yesterday, the design layout
of the National Stadium has been optimized to integrate more
safety, quality, function, time and cost factors into the construction.
The revamp of the design was completed last month and basically
maintains the "bird's nest" design although a roof that could be opened or
closed has been eliminated, the release says.
As a result, the amount of steel to be used in the venue was reduced by
22 per cent.
Yesterday's release by BOCOG emphasized after layout optimization, the
National Stadium will also meet competition requirements.
Furthermore, safety will be better ensured through the improved design,
the release said.
(China Daily) | 
Updated: 2004-12-28 14:06