Nevertheless, Chinese and foreign tourists flock to see it. Enter the glass-roofed entrance hallway and see how light filters down through the pond overhead. Inside the center, local wood and marble turns a huge cavern into an intimate space.
CCTV TOWER
The giant state broadcaster's new 'tower' actually is a twisty glass-and-steel doughnut, designed by Rem Koolhaas and his Dutch design firm, in collaboration with the Arup engineers. The facade is set to be completed by the start of the Games; the interior is likely to take many more months.
Two leaning towers rise 540 feet above the ground, then make a sharp turn to meet in a wide overhang -- creating the dizzying sensation that they are defying the usual laws of physics. To stabilize the structure, designers built a giant underground foot, like skis that prevent the skier from leaning too far forward and tipping over. The building overpowers remnants of an older neighborhood. 'A lot of people criticize what urban development means, but it's good that there's a debate,' says Chinese architect Zhu Pei, who urged city officials to invite Mr. Koolhaas and other international architects to join the competition to build the tower.
NATIONAL STADIUM ('THE BIRD'S NEST')
For most Olympic visitors, the site of the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as track-and-field events, will define their memories of Beijing. The stadium earned its nickname for the way the steel-and-cement girders cocoon the 91,000 seats inside. The design grew from brainstorming sessions between the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & deMeuron. The building evokes Chinese culture. Beams crisscrossing seemingly at random are meant to recall the crackled glaze on ancient Chinese ceramics. From the south, the angled bowl resembles the hat-shaped Chinese gold ingots that are a symbol of prosperity. The main support system consists of 24 columns, each weighing 1,000 tons. It took some 7,000 workers three years of 12-hour shifts around the clock to complete the structure. 'The CCTV tower is a triumph of technology,' says Xu Weiguo, an architecture professor at China's Tsinghua University. 'The Bird's Nest is a triumph of thinking.'
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