Press gets a peak into Beijing's Olympic stadium
Updated
After weeks on end of bad PR, China's Olympic Organizers finally had something to be happy about. The iconic "bird's nest" stadium is almost ready and foreign journalists were given a peak inside.
Presenter: Steven McDonell
Speakers: Michael Kwok, chief engineer Olympic Stadium, Beijing.
MCDONELL: This was supposed to be one of the good days for Olympic organisers, and in a way it was - no torch protests, nobody boycotting the opening ceremony, just a speccy new Olympic stadium ready to open.
But on the week that the inside of the bird's nest is finally revealed, air pollution has hit an appalling level. The city is so soupy that we were struggling to see the Olympic stadium as we approached it.
It's a pity because it is without a doubt the most crazy, interesting stadium design ever attempted. In fact it's hard to imagine how the world's next great stadium will top this vision.
Michael Kwok from the company Arup is the stadium's chief engineer.
KWOK: While the structure looks very chaotic, actually it has a quite logical structure behind it to support all the forces, to resist the seismic that we have to design for. The way to do it is actually to have quite robust and regular structure which formed by regular spaced column and then link it with steel trusses and then form a few dimensional space structure.
MCDONELL: So, is this right, those steel girders on the outside, the ones that look quite chaotic, they're not the ones that are holding the building up?
KWOK: In fact you are seeing the mix of the ones who are holding the building and the ones which are not holding the building but are there as a feature or supporting the cladding.
MCDONELL: It was built so quickly. How safe was the construction? Were there any accidents or deaths on the construction when it was built?
KWOK: In terms of the way we designed it, we designed it in a way that is very easy for construction.
MCDONELL: And so do you know if there were any accidents?
KWOK: Well there are some reports on accidents and for a fact we are not actually responsible for the management of the site so I will not be able to comment on this.
MCDONELL: Construction is going on around Beijing at a frantic pace. That's because the Government has announced that from the 20th of July 'til the 20th of August there will be a prohibition on pouring concrete. It hopes that this, along with drastic reductions in overall construction and also factory production, will clean the air enough to get through the Olympic Games.
Private car use will also be limited, possibly using an odds and evens number plate system. This remains an enormous challenge.
But at least tonight, when they flick on the lights so people can see a modern architectural marvel in front of them, Beijing's Games organisers must be given a bit of hope that the Olympics might just turn out all right.
