TheNationalStadiumBird'sNestisthemainstadiumforthe2008BeijingOlympicGames.ThedesignofthegiantstadiumcompletedbyHerzog,DeMellonandChinesearchitectLiXinggang,whowonthePlicPrizein2001,wasdesignedbyAiWeiweiasadesignconsultant.Formislikea"nest"thatbreedslife.Itismorelikeacradlethatholdshumanhopesforthefuture.Designersdidn'tdoanyextraworkonthenationalstadium,butfranklyexposedthestructure,thusnaturallyformingtheappearanceofthebuilding.
"Bird'sNest"ismainlycomposedofhugeportalsteelframeswith24trusscolumns.ThetopsurfaceoftheNationalStadiumissaddle-shaped,withamajoraxisof332.3meters,aminoraxisof296.4meters,ahighestpointof68.5metersandalowestpointof42.8meters.
ThedesignoftheBird'sNestfullyembodiesthehumanisticcare.Thebowl-shapedseatsencirclethefoldingstructureofthestadium,andtheupperandlowerfloorsarestrewnatrandom.Nomatterwheretheaudiencesits,thedistanceofsightfromthecenterofthestadiumisabout140meters.Thesound-absorbingfilmmaterialusedinthelowerlayerofthe"Bird'sNest",thesound-absorbingmaterialarrangedonthesteelstructuremember,andtheelectroacousticsoundamplificationsystemusedinthestadium,thesethreelayersof"specialdevices"maketheindexofspeechintelligibilityinthe"Bird'sNest"reach0.6-thisnumberensuresthattheaudiencesittinginanypositioncanhearthebroadcastclearly.ThedesignersoftheBird'sNestalsousedfluidmechanicstosimulatethenaturalventilationof91,000peoplewatchingthecompetitionatthesametime,sothatallspectatorscanenjoythesamenaturallightandnaturalventilation.Morethan200wheelchairseatshavealsobeensetupforthedisabledintheauditoriumoftheBird'sNest.Thesewheelchairseatsareslightlyhigherthanordinaryseats,ensuringthatdisabledpeoplehavethesamevisionasordinaryspectators.DuringtheGames-time,hearingAIDSandawirelessbroadcastingsystemwillbeprovidedtoprovidepersonalizedservicesforpeoplewithhearingandvisionimpairments.
Manyarchitecturalexpertsbelievethatthe"Bird'sNest"willnotonlysetupauniqueandhistoriclandmarkforthe2008OlympicGames,butwillalsohavepioneeringsignificanceinthedevelopmentofworldarchitectureandwillprovidehistoricalwitnessforthedevelopmentofChineseandworldarchitectureinthe21stcentury.