JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR SHELL AND SPATIAL STRUCTURES: J.

IASS
39
INNOVATIONS IN DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW
STADIUMS AND GYMNASIUMS FOR THE 2008 BEIJING
OLYMPIC GAMES
XILIANG LIU
1
, QIUHONG ZHAO
2
, HONGBO LIU
3
, ZHIHUA CHEN
4
*

1
Professor, School of Civil Engineering, TianJin University, China, E-mail: liuxiliang2004@vip.sina.com
2
Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Tennessee, USA, E-mail: qzhao@utk.edu
3
PhD student, School of Civil Engineering, TianJin University, China, E-mail: hb_liu2008@163.com
4
Professor, School of Civil Engineering, TianJin University, China, E-mail: zhchen@tju.edu.cn

Editors Note: Manuscript submitted 4 January 2010; revision received 11 May 2010; accepted 7 June. This paper is
open for written discussion, which should be submitted to the IASS Secretariat no later than September 2011.

ABSTRACT
Many innovative technologies have been adopted in the architectural design, structural design and construction
of the 16 new stadiums and gymnasiums for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The state-of-the-art in design and
construction techniques for long-span spatial structures in China is fully represented by these structures. This
paper describes in detail the innovative technologies utilized for the most representative 13 stadiums and
gymnasiums, which provides important references for future design of and research on long-span spatial
structures.

Keywords: Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, long-span spatial structures, new stadiums and gymnasiums, design
method, structural system, construction technique


1. INTRODUCTION

Besides the spirits of sport, the Olympic Games
always bring great interest in the innovative
technologies adopted for the newly-constructed
stadiums and gymnasiums, such as the Yayagi
Gymnasium for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games,
the Olympic Center for the 1972 Munich Olympic
Games, the cable dome for the 1988 Seoul Olympic
games, the pantadome for the 1992 Barcelona
Olympic games, the cable dome of the 1996 Atlanta
Olympic Games, etc, and it is especially true for
the2008 Beijing Olympic Games held in Beijing,
China.
A total of 37 stadiums and gymnasiums were built
or rebuilt for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, 31
of which were located in the Beijing City as shown
in Fig. 1 (12 newly built, 11 rebuilt and 8
temporary). The other 6 stadiums and gymnasiums


Corresponding author Tel: +86 13820589038;
Fax: +86 02227403736.
E-mail address: zhchen@tju.edu.cn (Zhihua
Chen)
were located in Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin,
Shenyang, Qinghuangdao, and Hong Kong. These
stadiums and gymnasiums represented the state-of-
the-art for design and construction techniques for
long-span structures in China. Therefore, technical
innovations adopted for some representative
structures are introduced here, in order to provide
references for future construction. Detailed
information including structural system, span, steel
consumption and height, are summarized in
appendix A.

Fig. 1 New gymnasiums and stadiums for Beijing
Olympic Games
Vol. 52 (2011) No. 1 March n. 167
40
2. INNOVATIONS ON STRUCTURE DESIGN
AND CONSTRUCTION
2.1 National Stadium
The National Stadium, as the main stadium of the
Beijing Olympic Games, is a unique structure with
the shape of a bird nest, as shown in Fig. 2. The
roof is an ellipse-curved surface of 332.3m by
297.3m, with an inner elliptic opening of 185.3m
by127.5m. There are more than 100,000 permanent
and temporary seats in the National Stadium, and its
total steel consumption reaches about 41,000t.

Fig. 2 Birds view
The primary structural system consists of 24
intersecting plane steel frames, which rotate around
the edge of the inner elliptic opening and connected
to each other to transfer the roof loads evenly to the
ground, as shown in Fig. 3. Each steel frame
consists of roof plane truss and column truss with
triangular sections. Secondary members, namely
twisted box-section members, are attached to the
upper chord of the roof truss to imitate the
appearance of the bird nest (as shown in Fig. 4). All
members are made of thin-walled box section with
stiffeners. The roof is covered with ETFE and PTFE
membranes on the upper chord and lower chord
respectively.

Fig. 3 Main structural system [2]

Fig. 4 Secondary members
The main design and construction innovations for
the National Stadium include the following:
(1) The designers innovatively apply the CATIA
software to form its complex 3D model, which is
widely used in the aviation and automobile
industries.
(2) It is the first time that steel twisted box-section
members is used in China, as shown in Fig. 5, and
the maximum wall thickness reaches 110 mm.

Fig. 5 Twisted box-section member[3]
(3) It is the first successful application of steel
Q460, the high-performance and high-strength steel
made in China, which was used in the inner legs of
its truss columns. The welding techniques of Q460
super-thick steel plate is firstly achieved in China as
well.

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(4) A new method is developed for determining the
effective width of thin-walled box-section members
based on their stress states, and new formulas are
developed for designing the box-section member
under the action of tension or compression, bi-axial
moment, bi-directional shear and torsion at the
same time.
(5) Downward wind-induced dynamic coefficient is
introduced for the first time in China, in order to
consider the dynamic response induced by wind
applied on the lower surface of the roof due to its
opening.
(6) A complex joint is developed for connecting
thirteen box-section members and transferring
forces from rhombic section to rectangular section
(as shown in Fig. 6).
(7) A design method is specially developed for weld
K-joint and KK-joint connecting thin-walled box-
section members.
(8) A new construction technique is firstly
developed for the hoist and air-overturn of members
with a height of 68m, a plane size of 25m20m and
a weight of 360t .
(9) A calculation method on temperature field of
long span buildings is firstly presented, by which
the reasonable difference between the highest and
lowest temperature during its service life is
achieved and the optimal erection temperature is
determined as 19
0
C4
0
C.

Fig. 6 Complex joint in the national stadium
2.2 National Gymnasium
The National Gymnasium (shown in Fig. 7) is one
of the three main venues for the 2008 Beijing
Olympic Games. It covers a total area of 81,000 m
2
,
and can accommodate up to 20,000 spectators. It is
going to be turned into a fitness and recreation
center for the Beijing citizens after the 2008 Beijing
Olympic Games. A new type of pre-stressed
structure, a bi-directional truss string structure (as
shown in Fig. 8), is accepted as its roof structure.
The plane size of the competition hall roof is
114m195.5m. Its total steel consumption is about
3000t, which corresponds to 86 kg /m
2
.

Fig. 7 General architectural view

Fig. 8 General view of structural system
Vol. 52 (2011) No. 1 March n. 167
42
An orthogonal spatial truss system is accepted as
the upper truss structure of the bi-directional truss
string structure, in which steel tubes are used as the
upper chords and web members, and box-section as
lower chords (as shown in Fig. 9). The welded
hollow spherical joints with stiffener are accepted
as its upper chord joints, and the cast-steel joints are
used as the lower chord joints. Below the upper
trusses, bi-directional pre-stressed cables of
5109 to 5369 are built in to increase the
stiffness of the upper trusses. A single cable is
installed below each longitudinal truss, and bi-
cables below each transverse truss (as shown in Fig.
10).

Fig. 9 General view of structure during construction [8]

Fig. 10 Inner view after completion
The main design and construction innovations for
the National Gymnasium include the following:
(1) Bi-directional truss string structure is adopted,
which is different from previous cases in China,
such as the Shanghai Pudong International Airport,
the Guangzhou International Convention and
Exhibition Center and so on, whose roof structures
are uni-directional truss or beam string structures.
Furthermore, its span is the largest one in the world
among the same kind of structures up to now.
(2) Cumulative slipping is applied as the roof
construction method, which is realized by the
following 3 steps: firstly, constructing the
longitudinal trusses on the high rise platform;
secondly, slipping them transversely along the 3
horizontally orbits, one in the middle and two at the
ends of the truss; and thirdly, installing cables and
tensioning them gradually by groups. Over-tension
is taken to eliminate the pre-stressing loss.
(3) 83 monitors are installed for real-time
permanent monitoring, in order to ensure its full life
safety. It is landmark that the real time permanent
monitoring is used in long span buildings,
compared to important bridges.
(4) Ball hinge cast-steel joint is used in connection
between the strut top and the trusss lower chords.
At the strut bottom, there is a two-way roller cast-
steel joint allowing both longitudinal and transverse
cables to pass through the joint.
2.3 National Swimming Center
The National swimming center has a very simple
shape of a 177.4m177.4m30.1m cube, as shown
in Fig. 11, which can accommodate about 17,000
people. The roof thickness is 7.0m, and the internal
and external wall thickness are 5.4m and 3.5m
respectively.

Fig. 11 A general view of national swimming center
The wall and roof of the national swimming center
is based on the WP (Weaire-Phelan) polyhedron,
which is composed of dodecahedron and
tetrakaidecahedron. The WP polyhedron is cut into
bubble-shape grids covered with ETFE membrane
inside and out, and form the upper chord, lower
chord and web members, as shown in Fig. 12. This
type of structure gives the national swimming
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center the appearance of limpid water, therefore it is
also called the water cube.

Fig. 12 ETFE cushions
The main innovations in design and construction
techniques are summarized below:
(1) A new polyhedral space frame was adopted in
this project, designed based on the Weaire-Phelan
theory.
(2) The reticulated members in this structure are
made of steel pipes and square tubes, which are
subjected to the combined effects of axial force,
moment and torque. Special-shaped welded ball
joints are designed and employed as connection
between the reticulate members as shown in Fig. 13.
There is a new analytical method presented for
bearing capacity of both structural members and
joints internationally, which is also recorded in a
revised edition of the Chinese Space Lattice
Specification.

Fig. 13 Special-shaped welded ball joints


(3) The ETFE cushion is used to form the exterior
surface of this structure, which is a new structural
cladding system. The advantages of the system
include light weight, transparency and aesthetic
appearance. Furthermore, ETFE material has many
plating points, which offers the advantage of
refracting sunlight and thermal insulation.
(4) The location of each joint is hard to track for
both fixing and assembling purposes, while the
engineers took effective steps to solve this
coordinating problem in construction, and the
whole structure is assembled smoothly and
successfully.
2.4 Laoshan Bicycle Gymnasium
The Laoshan Bicycle Gymnasium is a double-layer
reticulated dome, with the appearance of a bicycle
wheel as shown in Fig. 14. The double-layer
reticulated dome is the largest in China with a span
of 149.536m and a rise of 14.69m, resulting in a
rise-to-span ratio of 1/10. The span of the
supporting ring trusses is 133.06m, and the
thickness of the steel dome is 2.8m, which is 1/47.5
of the span. The height of the supporting concrete
columns is 7.15m, and for double-layer reticulated
dome, it is 35.3m. The roof is made of lightweight
steel, with glass roof in the middle for daylight, as
shown in Fig. 15. The total steel consumption of
Laoshan Cycling Gymnasium is about 2050t, and
the weightarea ratio is 112kg/m
2
. The weight-area
ratio for the double-layer reticulated dome is 70
kg/m
2
.

Fig. 14 General view of Laoshan Bicycle Gymnasium
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44

Fig. 15 Inner view of Laoshan Bicycle Gymnasium
The structural system includes the double-layer
reticulated dome, the steel truss ring and 24 pairs of
inclined steel v-shaped columns. Steel tubes and
welded hollow sphere joints are adopted for the
double-layer reticulated dome. The diameter of the
steel tube and the hollow sphere joint ranges from
114mm~203mm and 300mm~600mm respectively.
A steel truss ring, which consists of one 1200mm
diameter and three 500mm diameter steel tubes,
locates at the top of the steel v-shaped columns, in
order to increase the dome stiffness. The v-shaped
steel columns also consists of steel tubes with a
diameter of 1000mm, supported on the sub-
structure through steel cast pin joints, which help to
release the stress induced by temperature variation.
The main innovations in design and construction
techniques are summarized below:
(1) A double-layer reticulated dome supported by
inclined steel V-shaped column is adopted in this
project, with the advantages of good structural
stability and seismic performance.

Fig. 16 Cast ball-and-socket joint in practice
(2) Cast ball-and-socket joint with a simple
configuration used at the column base as shown in
Fig. 16, which allows free rotation and transfers
tension or compression forces, and therefore could
be considered a hinged support. Furthermore,
thermal stress are also reduced.
(3) Circular hollow section welded joints are
adopted for the column top joint with large steel
tubes, as shown in Fig. 17. In order to improve the
compressive strength and rigidity and reduce the
local stress concentration, soleplates are placed at
the connection between the column top and the ring
beam as well as the connection between the web
member and the ring beam. Furthermore, stiffening
ribs are attached at the ring beam joints.

Fig. 17 Circular hollow section welded joints in practice
(4) According to the nature of the project and the
field condition, a simple and economical step-by-
step lifting installation is adopted in the project, as
shown in Fig. 18. The construction process included
7 steps:
(a)Assemble the dome on the ground until the
dome diameter reaches 37.6m.
(b)Set the eight internal ring posts and lift the
assembled dome.
(c)Combine the height of the stand and continue
dome assembling as lifting, until the dome diameter
reaches 70.7m.
(d)Set the 14 middle ring posts and continue
lifting the assembled dome, and remove the
internal posts.
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(e)Assemble the dome as lifting until the
diameter reaches 95.2m.
(f)Set the 24 external ring posts and continue
lifting the assembled dome, and remove the mid-
ring posts.
(g)Assemble the dome as lifting until the dome
reaches the ring position.

Fig. 18 Lifting structure by poles
2.5 Beijing University of Technology
Gymnasium
The Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium
is located at the campus of Beijing University of
Technology in Chaoyang District in Beijing, as
shown in Fig. 19. The gymnasium has hosted the
badminton and rhythmic gymnastics events in the
Beijing Olympics 2008. The gymnasium includes a
hall for competition and a hall for warm-up. Single
layer lattice shell is used for the roof of both halls.
Suspendome, a new pre-stressed long-span spatial
structure, is used with a span of 93m, which is the
largest suspendome in the world when built in 2008
(smaller than the J inan gymnasium with a span of
108m built in 2009). Suspendome, which is
proposed by Kawaguchi, is a single-layer steel
dome stiffened with tensegric system. The upper
single-layer steel dome provides rigid support and
reduces flexibility of the lower tensegric system,
therefore reduces the required pre-stressing force in
the cables compared to the cable-dome system. By
providing inverse loading to the single-layer steel
dome, the tensegric system greatly enhances the
buckling capacity of the entire system, and reduces
the stress in boundary members. The suspendome
structure is adopted as the roof structure of the hall
for competition, due to its premium structural
properties.

Fig. 19 General view of Beijing University of Technology
Gymnasium
The main innovations in design and construction
techniques are summarized below:
(1) This gymnasium is the second largest
suspendome structure in the world, which provides
an important reference for future design and
construction of large span suspendome.
(2) Universal adjustable stay bar joint is invented to
provide a pinned support, which is an innovational
joint for connection between the struts and the
single-layer latticed shell, as shown in Fig. 20. In
addition, a new type of cable-strut joint is designed
such that the cable could slide around the joint, as
shown in Fig. 21.

(a) Joint in practice (b) Schematic view

(c) Exploded view
Fig. 20 Universal adjustable stay bar joint[8]
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46

Fig. 21 Cable-strut joint
(3) Large Pre-stressing equipments, as shown in Fig.
22, are designed to ensure a pre-stressing force as
large as 250t in the pretension-cables, which is
much larger than the pre-stressing force of 120t in
the National Gymnasium.
(4) Systematic theoretical and experimental studies
are carried out to understand the design method, the
details of key joints, the static and dynamic
properties, and the stability behavior of the dome,
all of which provides an important reference for
future design and research.

(a) Schematic view

(b) Equipment in practice
Fig. 22 Construction equipment for pre-stressing[8]
2.6 Beijing University Gymnasium
The Beijing University Gymnasium is designed
especially for the table tennis game of the 2008
Olympic Games, as shown in Fig. 23. The total
floor area is about 26,900m
2
, which could house
6,000 fixed seats and 2,000 temporary seats. The
roof composed of two spiral roof ridges, four
curved eaves and a central transparent sphere shell,
which symbolizes table tennis. The structural span
is 80m64m, and the central transparent sphere
shell has a rise of 7m and a span of 24m. An
innovative architectural design is adopted such that
the whole roof consists of spiral roof ridges and
central transparent sphere, vividly symbolizing the
spirits of ping-pong as speed, power and spin. Non
Uniform Rational B Spline (NURBS) is applied to
develop the roof curves, which is a technology for
special surface.

Fig. 23 General view of Beijing University Gymnasium
Based on study on the architectural form and the
supporting frame structure, pre-stressing truss shell
system is adopted as the roof structural system,
which is a new hybrid tension structure, as shown
in Fig. 24. The whole roof structure consists of six
parts, including the 32 radial plane trusses with a
depth of 2.5m, the central rigid tension ring, the
central transparent sphere shell, the down struts, the
down rigid ring, the cables, the bracing, etc. The
radial plane trusses are connected to the central
rigid tension ring by 32 cables, and the central rigid
tension ring is connected to the upper compression
ring truss by 32 struts. The radial trusses are
supported on the concrete frame columns through
28 sliding bearings and 4 fixed hinge bearings at the
corners. For the out-of-plane stability of the radial
trusses, vertical bracing trusses are placed at
concentric circles, which enhanced the whole
structure against buckling capacity by working
together with the bracing in the roof plane.
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The main innovations in design and construction
techniques are summarized below:
(1) According to structural calculation, the axial
stiffness of supporting parts in the structure has
little effects on the roof and could be ignored.
(2) Structural horizontal forces in the support points
are affected obviously by different boundary
constraints; therefore, lateral stiffness of supporting
parts in the structure should be considered in
structural calculation.
(3) Some structural properties of the roof could be
calculated separately, such as the joint deflections,
the cable axial forces, the member stresses, the
ultimate bearing capacity, etc.

(a) Plan view

(b) Sectional view
Fig. 24 Structural arrangement of Beijing University
Gymnasium[19]
2.7 Tianjin Olympic Stadium
The Tianjin Olympic Stadium is located in the city
of Tianjin for football preliminaries of the 2008
Olympic Game. The shape of a dewdrop is adopted
as the architectural form, in harmony with the
graceful natural environment of Tianjin City, which
brought the stadium the nickname "The Water
Drop", as shown in Fig. 25. Steel and glass
materials are used for the building envelope to
enhance its elegance and adjust the daylight area.
The architecture and facilities are state-of-the-art to
ensure comfort and safety of the visitors. The
stadium can accommodate up to 50000 audiences,
with an in-room area of about 59,300 m
2
, and a total
constructed area of 80,000 m
2
.

Fig. 25 General view of Tianjin Olympic Stadium
The stadium has a prolate ellipse plan with a long
axis of 384m and a short axis of 275m. The whole
structure is symmetrical about the long axis. The
roof has an area of 76,179 m2 and a height of 18.7
m, which covers almost the entire auditorium and
extends to the ground in various curvatures. The
roof is connected to steel tube truss at the base with
a wavy circle shape, and the whole roof and steel
truss is connected to 92 steel tube truss columns,
which are supported by concrete bearing platform
foundations. Glass plates cover both the interior and
exterior of the whole structure, while some portions
such as places between the V-shaped trusses are
covered by glass plates and metal plates
alternatively.
The roof is composed of steel tube trusses as shown
in Fig. 26. The whole structure can be divided into
3 parts from top to bottom: 1) 92 trellis columns
made up of steel tube trusses; 2) 224 inner steel
tube trusses between the central opening and the
inner circle truss; 3) the outer steel tube trusses with
a cantilever span around 50 m. Both the interior and
exterior V-shaped trusses are aligned radially and
connected with hoop members, which are made of
square steel tubes and diagonal braces. Therefore,
the whole structure has a robust three-dimension
frame. The span, height and curvature of each truss
vary in the structure, and connection between the
structural members is mutually intersecting except
for the key joints, which are cast-steel joints.
Vol. 52 (2011) No. 1 March n. 167
48

Fig. 26 Structural view of Tianjin Olympic Stadium
The main innovations in design and construction
techniques are summarized below:
(1) The roof surface took the shape of dewdrop and
consisted of 896 arcs with various dimensions. No
mathematical equations could define the curved
surface, since the smooth curve is achieved by
deduction and modification gradually by the
architects and engineers.
(2) The design and construction of super-long
concrete structure. Even though the circumference
of the whole structure is around 1100m, expansion
and contraction joints are eliminated due to several
techniques, for example, putting temperature
reinforcement into plate, control of concrete
mixture to reduce shrinkage, effective construction
management, control concrete mixing, vibrating,
casting, and maintenance, settling later casting zone
every 100m, maintain optimum temperature for
concrete casting, etc.
(3) The steel consumption of the structure is
reduced from 17000t to 13100t, and the structural
linear buckling adjustment value is increased from
2.7 to 5.1, due to optimization of steel tube truss
using nonlinear analysis, as well as wind tunnel test
and replacing grade Q390 steel with grade Q345
steel. Direct economic benefit resulted from
applying the technique is 56,000,000 RMB.
(4) Based on structural calculation and testing, the
steel consumption of cast-steel joint is reduced from
1900t to 1750t. Direct economic benefit is
20,000,000 RMB.
(5) Fair-faced concrete is adopted for columns and
the platform, which enhanced the architectural
aesthetics.

2.8 Shenyang Olympic Center Stadium
The Shenyang Olympic Center Stadium, located in
Shenyang city, China, is designed to resemble a
crystal crown in the hand of a Greek goddess, as
shown in Fig. 27. The total constructed area is
140,000 m
2
, which could accommodate audiences
up to 60,000. The roof over the south and north
stands is supported respectively by two long-span
arches with a span of 360m, which mimic the shape
of a space shuttle on plane view, as shown in Fig.
28. The total steel consumption is about 12,000t.
The main innovations in design and construction
techniques are summarized below:
(1) All grade beams are connected together to form
a rigid mesh to accommodate the up to 3600t push
force induced at the foot of the four arches as
shown in Fig. 29 and Fig. 30.
(2) The arch, with a span of 360m, is the largest in
China.
(3) The manufacturing technique of steel tubes with
diameter of 1524 mm has filled a gap in china.
(4) Precast stand slabs, instead of cast in-situ slabs,
are used in this project as shown in Fig. 31.
Furthermore, the span of precast stand slab has
reached 13m.
(5) It was the first stadium with safety pre-
evaluation. 13 interior exits 22 exterior stairs are
allocated to ensure the safe evacuation 60,000
audiences in the outer stadium in about only 8
minutes.

Fig.27 A general view of Shenyang Olympic Stadium[8]
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Fig. 28 Structural view of Shenyang Olympic stadium[8]

Fig. 29 Rigid mesh[8]

Fig. 30 Both rigid mesh and roof structure[8]

(a)

(b)
Fig.31 Precast stand slabs[8]
2.9 Wukesong Gymnasium
A traditional and simple spatial structural system is
adopted for the Wukesong Gymnasium, which is
made of orthogonal and ortho-laid spatial truss with
a total planar area of 120m120m and a modular
size of 12m12m, as shown in Fig. 32 and Fig. 33.
The roof structure is supported by 20 reinforced
concrete columns, and 2 X-bracings are located on
each side as shown in Fig. 32. All members are
steel H-section and box-section, and the total steel
consumption is about 4,500t. The cumulative
sliding construction method is used in this project.

Fig.32 General view of Wukesong Gymnasium

Fig.33 Structural system of Wukesong Gymnasium
2.10 Other Gymnasium or stadium
In addition to the 9 new-built gymnasiums and
stadiums mentioned above, there are 6 other new-
built gymnasiums and stadiums, in which
innovative techniques are applied. The typical
innovations in the design and construction
technology of these structures are summarized
below:
(1) A new structural system, beam string structure,
is adopted for the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center,
as shown in Fig. 34.
Vol. 52 (2011) No. 1 March n. 167
50

Fig. 34 A schematic view of structural system of Qingdao
Olympic Sailing Center[8]
(2) A new structural system, membrane structure, is
adopted for the Qinhuangdao Olympic Stadium, as
shown in Fig. 35.

Fig. 35 A general view of Qinhuangdao Olympic
Stadium[8]
(3) An unsymmetrical roof shape is adopted for the
China Agriculture University Gymnasium, as
shown in Fig. 36, with a planar size of 96m84.2m.
Huge door-type rigid frame is adopted to support
the roof loads. The cornices of the east and west
elevation in the competition hall are two
unsymmetrical undulating polylines. The roof and
external walls are staggered, which reflected the
rhythm on the elevation, and brought the natural
light into the hall so the soft diffuse light generate.
The pitched roof is beneficial to exclude rain and
snow quickly through the light reflection.

Fig. 36 A general view of China Agriculture University
Gymnasium
(4)Orthogonal square pyramid spatial reticulated
structure, a traditional and simple structural system,
is adopted for the Beijing Institute of Science &
Technology Gymnasium, as shown in Fig. 37. The
planar size is 76.8m110.6m, and the modular size
is 3.75m3.75m. In addition, bolt-ball joint is
adopted in this structure. The total steel
consumption is about 570t. During the construction,
the roof structure is divided into three parts, part A
(with a weight of 252t), part B (with a weight of
128t), part C (with a weight of 128t), and part A is
in the middle. Each part is assembled on the ground
first, and then lifted to the designated position by a
single pole.

Fig. 37 A general view of University of Science &
Technology Beijing Gymnasium
3. CONCLUSIONS
The stadiums and gymnasiums of the 2008 Beijing
Olympic Games have impressed the people around
the world and provided valuable references in
regards to architectural appearance, structural
design and construction technology. Several useful
conclusions from this paper are listed below:
(1) Several gymnasiums and stadiums are built
under the influence of architectural design, such as
the nest shape of the National Stadium and the
water cube shape of the National Swimming
Center, etc.;
(2) Several new types of structures are presented
and adopted for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games,
such as the spatial rigid frame of the National
Stadium, the polyhedron space frame of the
National Swimming Center, the bi-directional truss
string structure of the National Gymnasium, and the
suspendome of the Beijing University of
Technology Gymnasium, etc.;

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(3) Cable-strut structure is a new effective structural
system developed in recent years. Due to its good
structural performance, this system is used in 25%
of stadiums and gymnasiums for the 2008 Beijing
Olympic Games. Furthermore, the analysis, design
and construction theories and technologies for this
type of system are presented in this paper;
(4)A number of full-scale tests are carried out for
the complex joints, in order to provide insights into
the mechanical properties, as well as to verify
design and analytical theories;
(5)A number of constructional technologies are
presented for the large-span spatial structures, such
as lifting large area of space truss by pole.
(6)Several internationally advanced constructional
technologies are used for the stadiums and
gymnasium of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games,
which could be referred by future construction.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work is sponsored by the committee of
national science foundation of china (Grant No:
50778122) and Program for New Century Excellent
Talents in University of Ministry of Education in
China (Grant No: NCET-06-0228)
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