Olympic Stadium, Beijing

Sports stadiums have long followed the enduring design of one of the original wonders of the world, Rome’s Coliseum. National Stadium in Beijing is an attempt to rethink the classic sports-arena layout for more ecologically correct times. The Swiss architects wanted to provide natural ventilation for the 91.000 -seat structure- perhaps the largest “eco-friendly” sports [...]

Central Chinese Television CCTV, Beijing

The design of the new Central Chinese Television (CCTV) headquarters defies the popular conception of a skyscraper - and it broke Beijing’s building codes and required approval by a special review panel. Two leaning towers, each bent 90 degrees at the top and bottom to form a continuous loop. Designed by Rem Koolhaas and Ole [...]

Beijing International Airport, Beijing

The airport terminal will cover more than 1 million square meters, giving it a bigger footprint than the Pentagon. It’s designed to handle 43 million passengers a year initially and 55 million by 2015, figures that will probably push the new facility into the ranks of the top 10 busiest airports. The architects also kept [...]

Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai

Rising in the Lujiazhui financial district in Pudong, the Shanghai World Financial Center is a tower among towers. The elegant 101-story skyscraper will be (for a moment, at least) the world’s tallest. It also will be home to the world’s highest outdoor observation deck - a 100th-floor vista that will take vertigo to new heights.

[...]

Donghai Bridge, Shanghai/Yangshan Island

A key phase in the development of the world’s largest deep-sea port was completed when China’s first cross-sea bridge - the 20-mile, six-lane Donghai Bridge - was officially opened in December, 2005. Stretching across the East China Sea, the graceful cable-stay structure connects Shanghai to Yangshan Island, set to become China’s first free-trade port (and [...]

National Swimming Center, Beijing

The “Water Cube”, being constructed for the 2008 Olympic Games, is made from panels of a lightweight form of Teflon that transforms the building into an energy-efficient greenhouse-like environment. Solar energy will also be used to heat the swimming pools, which are designed to reuse double-filtered, backwashed pool water that’s usually dumped as waste.

[...]