The Beijing National Aquatics Center(the Water Cube)

The Beijing National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube, is an aquatics center that was built alongside Beijing National Stadium in the Olympic Green for the swimming competitions of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Despite its nickname, the building is not an actual cube, but a cuboid (a rectangular box). Ground was broken on December 24, 2003, and the Center was completed and handed over for use on January 28, 2008. Swimmers at the Water Cube broke 25 world records during the 2008 Olympics.

The outward appearance of the Center is a semi-transparent "cube", with "bubbles" spread out all over its surface, a shape very similar to the structure of "H2O". The Water Cube design was chosen from 10 proposals in an international architectural competition for the aquatic center project. It was initiated by a team effort: the Chinese partners felt a square was more symbolic of Chinese culture and its relationship to the Bird's Nest stadium, while the Sydney based partners came up with the idea of covering the "cube" with bubbles, symbolizing water. The Water Cube has set a new standard in environmental sports design, not only in China but throughout the world.

 

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 pool in the world. It is 1.314 meters deeper than most Olympic pools. The London 2012 Aquatics Centre is the same depth, which leads many to believe the London pool is as fast if not faster than the Beijing pool. Up to a certain limit, beyond which swimmers will lose their sense of vision, deeper pools allow the waves to dissipate down to the bottom, leading to less water disturbance to the swimmers. The pool also has perforated gutters on both sides to absorb the waves.

The Aquatics Center saw 25 world records broken in the Beijing Olympics, however, all the records broken were accomplished by athletes using the super-slick swimwear which have become banned at the beginning of the 2010 season by the International Swimming Federation (FINA).

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 amongst other shows. On October 19, 2009, the Water Cube was closed to the public to begin a massive renovation of a portion of the complex into a water park. The building reopened on August 8, 2010, marking the two-year anniversary of the beginning of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The redesigned facility contains numerous water rides and slides, a wave pool, and spa areas. The renovations were performed in order to bring renewed interest to the Olympic Green area as part of the games' legacy.
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