"Water Cube" will remain a symbol of the Olympic Games

Shanghai - The "Water Cube" in Beijing, where more than forty world records were broken, will remain a famous symbol of this year's Olympic Games. Zhao Xiaoyun, one of its architects, is benefiting from this even today.
    "People tell me that the pool is amazing," says the forty-one-year-old Chinese man to AFP in his office in Shanghai, in a four-story building surrounded by a bamboo garden.
    His company, China Construction Design International, teamed up with Australian PTW Architects and British Arup to design and build the swimming competition stadium, which was unanimously welcomed by both athletes and spectators.
    Since the beginning of the Olympic Games in the Chinese metropolis, visitors have admired and photographed the building with four color-changing walls, resembling water bubbles, day and night.
    Zhao, dressed in a traditional Mandarin vest, pours tea for his guests and explains that at the beginning of the project, the Australian architects designed the building to resemble a sea wave. After weeks of discussions, their Chinese partners finally pushed through their idea of calm, undisturbed water.
    "It may not catch your eye at first, but on second glance, you begin to feel the peace and deep aesthetic sense of the building," he explains.
    The National Aquatics Center, officially known as the Water Cube, has three pools. Construction took four years and cost approximately 200 million dollars (3.4 billion CZK). It was primarily financed by Chinese living abroad.
    Zhao Xiaoyun's company had two hundred employees five years ago; today it has over 1800. Its revenues are growing at 80 percent per year. This year's annual turnover is expected to exceed two billion CZK.
    Zhao explains that he lost some money with the cube because the work on the pools was very demanding. However, he emphasizes that this building has rewarded him with experience and reputation. "That is the best foundation in business," he assures.
    His company has also attracted new talents inspired by the construction of this futuristic structure.
    The construction of the steel-structured cube required an innovative polymer material for the 3065 bubbles in its walls. It is a hundred times lighter than glass and transparent, providing better insulation and allowing light to pass through more effectively.
    It was not easy to convince the viability of the project, Zhao states. The jury doubted whether the building would withstand the Beijing weather, as it is too hot in the summer and very cold in the winter.
    In addition to new architectural projects, the cube has also garnered commercial interest. A Canadian company won the contract for selling plastic water bottles, inspired by the motifs of the cube. And a former collaborator of Zhao wants to sell furniture and accessories taking on the motif of bluish bubbles.