China continues to sell their country with beautifully designed buildings. The “water cube” will be the venue for all water-related Olympic sports (water polo, synchronized swimming, diving, and…of course…swimming).
Not only is the design revolutionary, it’s sustainable, the building and flooring are functioning as a sort of greenhouse.
Here’s the story, from AJP Online:
- The extraordinary design concept is seen as a symbol of architecture as it fulfils all up-to-date requirements on design, sustainability and safety.
- Speaking of sustainability, the National Aquatics Centre has been designed to act as a gigantic greenhouse. The unique prototype cladding which is based on the natural formation of soap bubbles allows high levels of natural daylight into the building to heat the interior as well as the pool water.
- Energy consumption is thus expected to be reduced by up to 30 per cent. Beside sustainability and energy cost reduction, safety was crucial. All materials used had to fulfil the highest demands of fire safety. It was therefore no surprise that eventually nora® rubber floorings were eventually chosen.[...]
- The flooring also contains natural minerals that supplement the high-quality natural and industrial rubber qualities, as well as environmentally compatible colour pigments that are free of lead and other heavy metals.
Read the rest of the story here.
