Beijing, China. 2009.7.20 - Cube, egg, nest, trousers! Beijing now has modern architecture to rival the world's most avant garde cities, with funky names to match!
 

 
A city with some of the most extensive imperial architecture in the world, the 2008 Olympics brought Beijing immense attention and some highly distinctive architecture.
 
The first glimpse of this architectural modernism greets visitors at Terminal Building Three (T3) at the Beijing Capital International Airport. Designed by Norman Foster, T3 is one of the largest and most advanced airport terminals in the world. It's soaring roofline is a visual delight.
 
The 2008 Summer Olympics introduced a worldwide audience to Beijing's new centrepieces, the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube.
 
The China National Stadium, built for the 2008 Summer Olympics, features a mesh of thick steel bands forming a dome of interconnected strips, which invoked it's informal name: the Bird's Nest. Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron collaborated with Chinese artist Ai Weiwei to design this structural marvel, which appears light and open despite it's size.
 
The National Aquatic Centre, or Water Cube, designed by Australian architects PTW, is located in Olympic Green, adjacent to Beijing National Stadium. The design of the Water Cube is based on the patterns of cells and soap bubbles. The Water Cube has a cube-shaped steel frame covered with a membrane composed of energy-efficient ETFE, a plastic-like material, to create a bubble effect. The bubbles collect solar energy and help heat the swimming pools. In the evening, a multi-coloured light show adds dynamism to the translucent walls.
 
Also built just prior to the Olympics and recognisable to many viewers, is the offices of China's national broadcaster, China Central Television. CCTV Headquarters towers into the sky like a colossal pair of overstarched and acutely angled trousers! Designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, and constructed with 10,000 tons of steel, the 49-story towers have been built to withstand earthquakes. The monolithic structure achieves a dramatic effect with a balance which is simultaneously unsettling and elevating.
 
One of the most elegantly balanced of Beijing's modernist buildings, is the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, affectionately known as The Egg. French architect Paul Andreu designed the elliptical titanium and glass dome, which is surrounded by a man-made lake. A hallway beneath the lake leads into the building.
 
In Beijing, many more examples of modernist architecture exist, including the three acutely arched office buildings which tower over the Xizhimen Subway Connection to Beijing North Railway Station.
 
Modernism is also extending into transport in China, with 'bullet train' routes rapidly radiating from Beijing to destinations across the entire country. The trains, which attain speeds of 360 kph, are clean, comfortable and for some routes, faster than travelling by plane.
 
First-time visitors to Beijing will naturally want to visit the ancient landmarks of Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall, but they should also visit China's many superlative examples of dramatic modernist architecture.
 
Digital Tsunami has a very long experience in filming in China. The company has produced traditional and simplified Chinese character websites and filmed in China for NYSE listed companies and global brands including Cathay Pacific, Citizen, Coca-Cola and Merck.
 
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