The Secret of the Beijing National Stadium

I remember when my high school finally got its own stadium. Gone were the days of Homecoming on rival turf. You’d think any teenager would be thrilled.

Not me.

Sports facility design experience matters more than you’d think. Not only does it impact the psychology and performance of athletes, it greatly impacts the spectator experience, and don’t the two depend on one another, like theater actors and playgoers?

The Beijing National Stadium was certainly designed for a “Wow!” effect, both as you approach it and once you’re inside. But it’s not just about aesthetics. The seemingly delicate Bird’s Nest, as it’s called, is not as delicate as the nickname makes it sound. We’re talking 40,000 tonnes of steel enclosing 90,000 seats. Massive.

How do you design and build such a monster, yet give it a delicate bird’s nest look?

Well Nick just happened to know someone who works at the firm Arup Sport and called to find out. Arup Sport is the firm responsible for the stadium’s architectural design services, structural, mechanical and fire engineering as well as other specialist technical services. Yes, all that went into the Bird’s Nest!

Arup Senior Structural Engineer Kate McDougall suggested that the answer is 3D. She said that using 3D software like CATIA is vital for complex stadium design and further explained, “Stadia are all unique and they always incorporate complex geometry. Coordinating their design, planning and constructions involves making many changes and updates through the project’s lifecycle. ”

And then she said, “This process is enhanced and facilitated through the use of 3D models. The software allows us to save costs by developing a route to manufacture early in the project and also by allowing us to make use of standard components to improve quality and make financial savings. The CATIA 3D-based model methodology also makes checking efficient, easy and quick since complex geometry is modeled in three dimensions.”

Wheh!

Ok, so the same company that helped solve the mystery of the Great Pyramid, how the heck was it built, is also used to figure out how to build contemporary masterpieces.

But back to my high school. What I loved about Sanderson High’s stadium was the way it made me feel. After parking your car or being dropped off, there was always a glow hovering above the ground as you approached it. The grey concrete, bowl-shaped stadium was burrowed into the earth, as if it were built in a crater. Once there you felt cocooned, insulated from the rest of the world and captive to the fans, athletes and vendors present.

I think it was senior year when my high school inaugurated its own stadium. The result was a set of ground-level aluminum bleachers, perfect for loosing keys and french fries that would slip into the open space between seats. You were out there, exposed to whatever else was happening in the surroundings. Homecoming lost its magic.

Alas, if only my alma mater had used 3D design technology to conceive something at least a little closer to the Bird’s Nest!

–Kate, a disgruntled high school graduate

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