Hot off the Press:
1. "Water Cube" Design Selected for the National Swimming Center
2. Release of the Olympic 2008 Emblem
"Water Cube" Design Selected for the National Swimming Center
(Source: http://www.beijing-olympic.org.cn/olympic_new/english/html/main.html)
(Source: http://www.csiso.com)
After determining its feasibility and putting the final design up to public vote against two other short-listed design submissions, on July 29, the Beijing State-Owned Assets Management Co., Ltd - Chinese owner of the National Swimming Center - awarded the design contract for the National Swimming Center to a Sino-Australian design consortium composed of the China State Construction Engineering Corporation, PTW Architects and Ove Arup Pty, Ltd.
A box-like shape using transparent Teflon as the roof with "bubbles" inside, also located at the Olympic Green, was selected as a good match for the National Stadium, whose design resembles a bird's nest. The Sino-Australian design fully meets the requirements for the swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo competitions of the 2008 Games that are expected to be held at the aquatics center.
The Swimming Center will cover a floor space of 70,000 square meters with 17,000 seats – 6,000 permanent ones and 11,000 temporary ones. It will be turned into a large-scale multi-functional facility to provide public recreation, sports and fitness services after the Games. The construction is scheduled to begin on December 12, 2003 and will be completed by the end of 2006. Total investment in the facility is estimated at USD 100 million.
Release of the Olympic 2008 Emblem
(Source: http://www.beijing-olympic.org.cn/olympic_new/english/html/main.html)
The official Olympic emblem for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was unveiled on Sunday August 3, 2003 at a ceremony held at the Temple of Heaven, a landmark scenic spot in Beijing.
The red and white emblem, called "Dancing Beijing", is in the style of a Chinese seal with the traditional Chinese character "Jing" rendered in the form of an athlete running to victory. Its announcement comes as a first step towards the official marketing campaign launch, scheduled for September of this year.
The emblem has been one of the most eagerly anticipated Olympic-related designs to be created for China's first ever Olympic Games, and was selected from 1985 entries from around the world, judged and monitored by 11 local and international judges.
The gala event which included speakers from BOCOG and other key Olympics 2008 figures, included a special ceremony during which one of two identical seals, carved with the Olympic emblem, was presented as a gift from BOCOG to the IOC to represent Beijing's commitment to hosting a successful Games.
BOCOG furthermore pledged to do its utmost to protect the image from illegal copying and has taken technological measures to prevent counterfeiting. Commerative envelopes, stamps, badges and key chains are the first line of memorbilia to be released in Beijing and are already available for purchase in select stores around the city.