2008 Design of the Year
PTW Architects with ARUP and CCDI
The Watercube
 
The Watercube associates water as a structural and conceptual “leitmotiv” with the square, the primal shape of the house in Chinese transition and mythology. Conceptually the square box and the interior spaces are carved out of an unconfined cluster of foam bubbles, symbolizing a condition of nature that is transformed into a condition of culture. The appearance of the aquatic centre is therefore a ”cube of water bubbles”. As a cube is dropped into water, drops scatter and ripples spread away.
Unlike traditional stadium structures, the architectural space, structure and façade of the Watercube are one and the same element. The Watercube aesthetic reflects a form of water, responsive to its physical and urban setting, bringing to the residents of landlocked Beijing the happiness, joy and fantasies associated with water.
Demonstrating principles of traditional Chinese architecture and embodying latest technologies and materiality, this cross-fertilisation of ideas between cultures and architectural and engineering disciplines creates a building that is visually striking, energy efficient, and ecologically friendly. |
