View source for Water Cube

{{Short description|Swimming center in Beijing, China}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}}

{{Infobox swimming venue
|name          = Water Cube
|logo          = Water_Cube.jpg
|logosize      = 200px
|logocaption   =Logo of the Water Cube
|image         = 国家游泳中心夜景.jpg
|imagesize     =
|caption       = The Water Cube at night
|fullname      =National Aquatics Centre
|nicknames     = 
|city          = [[Beijing]], [[China]]
|capacity      = 4,598 (17,000 during Olympics)
|built         = 2004&ndash;2007
|opened        = 2008
|construction cost = [[Renminbi|CNY]]940 million<br/>[[United States dollar|USD]]140 million<br/>[[Euro|EUR]]94 million
|architects    = [[PTW Architects]], [[China State Construction Engineering Corp|CSCEC]], [[China Construction Design International|CCDI]], and [[Arup Group Limited|Arup]]
|home clubs    =
|poolname      = Main pool
|length        = {{convert|50|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|width         = {{convert|25|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|deep          = {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|lanes         = 10
| coordinates     = {{WikidataCoord|display=it}}
|footnotes       = {{Infobox mapframe |wikidata=yes |zoom=15 |marker = park |coord={{WikidataCoord|display=i}}}} 
|website={{url|http://www.water-cube.com|water-cube.com}}}}

The '''Water Cube''' (水立方),<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sebag-Montefiore |first=Clarissa |date=2013-06-25 |title=Mood Swings at Beijing's Water Cube |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2013/06/25/mood-swings-at-an-iconic-stadium/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-01-28 |title=Beijing's bubble-wrapped "Water Cube" unveiled |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.comarticle/idUSSP104153/ |access-date=2023-11-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-08-14 |title=More Gold at the Water Cube |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/08/14/sports/olympics/0814-SWIM_index.html |access-date=2023-11-16 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Water Cube |url=http://www.water-cube.com/en/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=The Water Cube}}</ref> fully a.k.a. the '''National Aquatics Centre''' ({{zh|s=国家游泳中心|labels=no}}),<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Aquatics Centre |url=https://english.beijing.gov.cn/beijing2022/venues/beijing/202103/t20210316_2308897.html |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=Beijing Municipal People's Government}}</ref> is a swimming center at the [[Olympic Green]] in [[Chaoyang, Beijing|Chaoyang]], [[Beijing]], [[China]].

The Water Cube was originally constructed to host the aquatics competitions at the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] and [[2008 Summer Paralympics|Paralympics]]. During the 2008 Olympics—where it hosted [[diving at the 2008 Summer Olympics|diving]], [[swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics|swimming]] and [[synchronized swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics|synchronized swimming]] events—25 world records were broken in this facility.<ref>{{Cite web |title=外媒：9天打破25项世界纪录 水立方简直成游泳圣殿 -- 中国发展门户网 |url=http://cn.chinagate.cn/sport/2008-08/19/content_16273981.htm |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=cn.chinagate.cn}}</ref> In July 2010, a renovation of the facility was completed, which included the addition of a {{convert|12000|sqm||abbr=on}} public [[water park]]. After renovation and adaptive configuration, the Water Cube also hosted the [[2022 Winter Olympics]] and [[2022 Winter Paralympics|Paralympics]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=冬奥百问 {{!}} 水立方究竟如何变成冰立方？-中新网 |url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/ty/2022/01-24/9660711.shtml |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=www.chinanews.com.cn}}</ref>

==Architecture==
In July 2003 the Water Cube design was chosen from 10 proposals in an international [[architectural design competition|architectural competition]] for the aquatic center project.<ref name=Arup>{{cite web 
 |last=Arup East Asia 
 |title=The Water Cube, National Aquatics Center, Beijing 
 |url=http://www.arup.com/eastasia/project.cfm?pageid=1250 
 |access-date=August 17, 2008 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604115637/http://www.arup.com/eastasia/project.cfm?pageid=1250 
 |archive-date=June 4, 2008 
 |df=mdy 
 }}
</ref>
The Water Cube was specially designed and built by a [[consortium]] made up of [[PTW Architects]] (an Australian [[architecture firm]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ptw.com.au/ptw_project/watercube-national-swimming-centre/|title=Water Cube - National Swimming Center|work=PTW Architects|access-date=August 5, 2015}}</ref> [[Arup Group Limited|Arup]] international engineering group, CSCEC ([[China State Construction Engineering Corp]]oration), and CCDI ([[China Construction Design International]]) of Shanghai.<ref name=Welcome >[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/may/06/research.science1 Welcome to WaterCube, the experiment that thinks it's a swimming pool] by Peter Rogers in The Guardian, May 6, 2004</ref> The Water Cube's design was initiated by a team effort: the Chinese partners felt a square was more symbolic to Chinese culture and its relationship to the [[Beijing National Stadium|Bird's Nest]] stadium while the Sydney-based partners came up with the idea of covering the 'cube' with bubbles, symbolizing water. Contextually, the Cube symbolizes Earth, while the circle (represented by the elliptic stadium) represents heaven, a common motif in ancient Chinese art.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

Comprising a steel [[space frame]], it is the largest [[ETFE]]-clad structure in the world with over 100,000 m<sup>2</sup> of ETFE pillows that are only 0.2&nbsp;mm (1/125 of an inch) in total thickness.<ref name="pop-sci-nov06-84.85">{{Cite journal | last=arup.com | title=Best of What's New 2006 &ndash; Engineering | journal=Popular Science | volume=269 | issue=6 | year=2006 | url=http://www.popsci.com/popsci/flat/bown/2006/product_41.html | page=84&ndash;85 | access-date=August 17, 2008 | archive-date=September 21, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921072321/http://www.popsci.com/popsci/flat/bown/2006/product_41.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> The ETFE [[cladding (construction)|cladding]], supplied and installed by the firm [[Vector Foiltec]], allows more light and heat penetration than traditional glass, resulting in a 30% decrease in energy costs.<ref name="pop-sci-nov06-84.85"/> This choice was made in view of Beijing's goal of presenting a fully "green" Olympic Games, with zero net growth in total carbon emissions.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Beijing|last=Jaivin|first=Linda|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2014|isbn=978-1780232614|location=London}}</ref> Likewise, the venue was also designed to "capture and recycle 80% of the water falling on the roof or lost from the pools."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Science in Culture: Beijing Bubbles|last=Ball|first=Philip|date=December 2006|work=Nature}}</ref>

The outer wall is based on the [[Weaire–Phelan structure]], a structure devised from the [[Patterns in nature|natural pattern]] of bubbles in soap lather.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/7069401.stm Beijing venues &ndash; National Aquatics Center], on BBC Sports.</ref> In the true Weaire–Phelan structure the edge of each cell is curved in order to maintain 109.5 degree angles at each vertex (satisfying [[Plateau's rules]]), but of course as a structural support system each beam was required to be straight so as to better resist axial [[compression (physical)|compression]]. The complex Weaire–Phelan pattern was developed by slicing through bubbles in soap foam, resulting in more irregular, organic patterns than foam bubble structures proposed earlier by the scientist [[William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin|Kelvin]].<ref name="Welcome" /> Using the Weaire–Phelan [[geometry]], the Water Cube's exterior cladding is made of 4,000 ETFE bubbles, some as large as {{convert|9.14|m|ft|0|sp=us}} across, with seven different sizes for the roof and 15 for the walls.<ref name="Pearson">{{cite journal
  | last = Pearson
  | first = Clifford
  | title = Projects: National Swimming Center
  | journal = Architectural Record
  | volume = 196
  | issue = 7
  | publisher = McGraw Hill
  | date = July 2008
  | url = http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0807nationalswimming-1.asp
  | access-date =August 16, 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080813094645/http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0807nationalswimming-1.asp| archive-date= August 13, 2008 | url-status= live}}
</ref>

The structure had a capacity of 17,000 during the games.<ref name="pop-sci-nov06-84.85"/> It also has a total land surface of 65,000 square meters and covers a total of {{convert|32000|m2|acre|abbr=on}}.<ref name="pop-sci-nov06-84.85"/> Although called the Water Cube, the aquatic center is really a [[Cuboid|rectangular box (cuboid)]] {{convert|178|m|ft|0|sp=us}} square and {{convert|31|m|ft|0|sp=us}} high.<ref name="Pearson" /> The building's popularity has spawned many copycat structures throughout China.<ref>[[Barbara Demick]]. [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-beijing-cube14-2009aug14,0,6430709.story "Beijing's Water Cube Still Drawing Crowds"]. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Aug. 13, 2009.</ref> For example, there is one-to-one copy of the facade near the ferry terminal in [[Macau]] – the ''Casino Oceanus'' by [[Paul Steelman]].<ref>[http://www.oceanus.asia/ Casino Oceanus – The Unofficial Casino Oceanus Website from ''www.oceanus.asia''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201204824/http://www.oceanus.asia/ |date=February 1, 2011 }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:National Aquatics Center Construction.jpg|The Beijing National Aquatics Center while under construction
File:Beijing_National_Aquatics_Centre_1.jpg|The National Aquatics Center under construction, with the [[Beijing National Stadium]] in the background
File:Cubeinside.jpg|Inside the Water Cube on August 14, 2008
</gallery>

==2008 Summer Olympics==
{{Further|2008 Summer Olympics}}
The Aquatics Center hosted the swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming events during the Olympics. [[Water polo]] was originally planned to be hosted in the venue but was moved to the [[Ying Tung Natatorium]].

Many people believed the Water Cube to be the fastest [[Olympic-size swimming pool|Olympic pool]] in the world.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93478073|title=China's Olympic Swimming Pool: Redefining Fast|last1=Berkes|first1=Howard|date=August 10, 2008|work=NPR|access-date=August 5, 2015}}</ref> Over the course of the Games, 25 [[List of world records in swimming|world records]] were broken by athletes at the Water Cube, although all but two of them were achieved by swimmers wearing the controversial [[LZR Racer]] [[bodyskin]] (which led to restrictions on the use of such suits being implemented by [[FINA]] in 2010).<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympic_games/7900443.stm|title=Goodhew demands hi-tech suit ban|date=2009-02-20|work=BBC Sport|access-date=2020-01-31|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Crouse|first1=Karen|title=Swimming Bans High-Tech Suits, Ending an Era|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/sports/25swim.html|access-date=August 5, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=July 24, 2009}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px" caption="Water Cube during 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games">
File:Water Cube 2008.08-02.jpg|
File:Water Cube 2008.08-04.jpg|
File:Water Cube 2008.08-03.jpg|
File:Water Cube 2008.08-05.jpg|
File:Water Cube 2008.08-01.jpg|
</gallery>

==Post-2008 Olympics usage and legacy==
[[File:Water Cube Ice Cube Beijing 4.jpg|thumb|right|Indoor water park]]
[[File:Watercube-Aquacube-Cubed'eau-水立方-2010.ogv|thumb|right|Video: The Beijing National Aquatics Center reopened on July 28, 2010.]]

After the Olympics, the Water Cube was opened to the public on select days of the week beginning in June 2009, and was also used as the site for a production of ''[[Swan Lake]]'' among other shows. On 19 October 2009, the Water Cube was closed to the public to begin a renovation of a portion of the complex into a [[water park]], led by Canadian design firm Forrec,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/BeijingInformation/BeijingNewsUpdate/t1089220.htm|title=Water Cube will close for renovation from October 15|work=eBeijing, the Official Website of the Beijing Government|access-date=August 5, 2015}}</ref> promising "seven-story water slides and a wave machine, as well as attractions for the more land inclined such as shopping centers, cafes, and performance stages."<ref>{{Cite journal|date=August 19, 2010|title=In Pictures: Beijing's Water Cube Legacy|journal=Architects' Journal}}</ref>

The facility officially reopened on 28 July 2010, with the water park opening on 8 August 2010 (the second anniversary of the Games' opening). The renovation divided the facility into three pool areas (a main pool, Olympic "demonstration" pool, and a training pool), as well as the {{convert|12000|sqm||abbr=on}} water park area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/2010-07/19/content_11066091.htm|title=Water Cube set to reopen soon with a big splash|website=China Daily|access-date=2020-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-07/22/content_11033866.htm|title=Water Cube set to reopen, leisure park on way|website=China Daily|access-date=2020-01-31}}</ref>

In July 2013, the Water Cube introduced a new LED light show on its exterior, "Nature and Man in Rhapsody of Light", by artist [[Jennifer Wen Ma]] and lighting designer Zheng Jiawei. Its colors are determined by trending use of [[emoji]] on [[Sina Weibo]], which is in turn used to calculate the "mood" of the Chinese public <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/chinas-mood-in-real-time/|title=China's mood in real-time|last=Korosec|first=Kirsten|website=ZDNet|language=en|access-date=2020-01-31}}</ref>

In 2018, it was reported that the venue had achieved revenues of 124 million yuan (about US$18 million), and has been breaking even for years.<ref>{{Cite news|title=水立方：世界场馆良性循环的优等生|last=邹|first=松霖|work=China Economic Weekly 中国经济周刊|year=2019}}</ref>

==2022 Winter Olympics==
[[File:Water Cube Ice Cube Beijing 2.jpg|thumb|The venue in its new curling configuration.|alt=]]
The Water Cube hosted the [[curling]] events during the [[2022 Winter Olympics]] and [[2022 Winter Paralympics|Paralympics]], a configuration nicknamed the "Ice Cube". After Beijing was awarded the Games, work began on renovations to the facility to allow it to be converted to a curling rink, including the addition of ice-making equipment and other necessary climate control and monitoring systems.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2015-08/11/content_21578806.htm|title=Water Cube to be transformed for events on ice|date=August 11, 2015|website=China Daily|access-date=2020-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201812/27/WS5c248d05a310d912140514fa.html|title=Water Cube to be frozen into Ice Cube for Beijing 2022 Winter Games|website=China Daily|access-date=2020-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1082593/beijing-2022-convertible-curling-rink|title=Convertible curling rink for Beijing 2022 soon to be completed|website=Inside the Games|date=July 25, 2019 |access-date=2020-01-31}}</ref>

It hosted its first event in this configuration, the China Junior Curling Open, in December 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/17/c_138637779.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217174928/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/17/c_138637779.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 17, 2019|title=Yearender: Beijing 2022 organizers move focus from construction to operation|website=Xinhua|access-date=2020-01-31}}</ref>

==Awards==
{{Quote|The special award for the most accomplished work in the section Atmosphere is awarded to the Australian architecture firm PTW Architects, CSCEC + Design and Arup for the project National Swimming Center, Beijing Olympic Green, China. The project demonstrates in a stunning way, how the deliberate morphing of molecular science, architecture, and phenomenology can create an airy and misty atmosphere for a personal experience of water leisure|Quote from the Jury report of the Official Awards 9th International Architecture Exhibition &ndash; METAMORPH, Venice Biennale}}

* 2004: [[Venice Biennale]] &ndash; Award for most accomplished work Atmosphere section<ref name="ptw">{{cite web|url=http://www.ptw.com.au/index.html |title=PTW Projects:Watercube-National Swimming Center |access-date=December 6, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819090901/http://ptw.com.au/index.html |archive-date=August 19, 2006 |df=mdy }}(page in Flash presentation)</ref>
* 2006: ''[[Popular Science]]'' Best of what's new 2006 in engineering<ref name="pop-sci-nov06-84.85"/>
* 2008: [[NSW]] Project of the Year award from the Australian Institute of Project Management<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lee|first1=Ellen|title=Water Cube scoops the pool at project management awards|url=http://www.arup.com/News/2008-09%20September/09-09-08-Water_Cube_scoops_the_pool_at_project_management_awards|website=Arup|access-date=August 5, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923174333/http://www.arup.com/News/2008-09%20September/09-09-08-Water_Cube_scoops_the_pool_at_project_management_awards|archive-date=September 23, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* 2009: 40th annual [[MacRobert Award]], the UK's biggest prize for engineering innovation
* 2010: [[International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering]] 2010 [[Outstanding Structure Award]]

== See also ==
{{Portal|Architecture}}
*[[Frei Otto]]
*[[Chris Bosse]]
*[[Rob Leslie-Carter]]
*[[Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics]]
*[[Swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics]]
*[[Curling at the 2022 Winter Olympics]]
*[[Wheelchair curling at the 2022 Winter Paralympics]]
*[[Timothy Schreiber]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Beijing National Aquatics Centre}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100402072014/http://www.water-cube.com/ Official website]
*[http://www.arup.com/Projects/Chinese_National_Aquatics_Center.aspx National Aquatics Center (Water Cube)]
*[http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/34283/title/A_building_of_bubbles Science News article describing the design of the building and the mathematics behind it] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227191803/http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/34283/title/A_building_of_bubbles |date=February 27, 2012 }}
*[http://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/watercube News and Project Information on the Watercube, Beijing]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110721163241/http://www.ingenia.org.uk/ingenia/articles.aspx?Index=463 The Water Cube's creation process]

{{Chaoyang District, Beijing}}
{{2008 Summer Olympics venues}}
{{2022 Winter Olympics venues}}
{{Olympic venues diving}}
{{Olympic venues swimming}}
{{Olympic venues synchronized swimming}}
{{Olympic venues curling}}
{{Buildings and Structures in Beijing}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Venues of the 2008 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Venues of the 2022 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Contemporary Chinese architecture]]
[[Category:High-tech architecture]]
[[Category:Olympic diving venues]]
[[Category:Olympic swimming venues]]
[[Category:Olympic synchronized swimming venues]]
[[Category:Olympic curling venues]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Beijing]]
[[Category:Swimming venues in China]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Water parks]]
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 2008]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Chaoyang District, Beijing]]