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Thinking beyond the square: innovation theory and technology transfer as they apply to the Beijing Water Cube
Citation
Orr, K, Thinking beyond the square: innovation theory and technology transfer as they apply to the Beijing Water Cube, Techniques and Technologies: Transfer and Transformation: Proceedings of the IVth International Conference of the Association of Architecture Schools of Australasia, 27-29 September 2007, Sydney, Australia, pp. 1-7. ISBN 9780980284041 (2007) [Refereed Conference Paper]
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Abstract
The Water Cube National Swimming Centre designed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics has been
hailed as a highly innovative post-millennial sports facility. Conceptually, its architecture is a
cube, carved from a random, organic and homogeneous cluster of foam bubbles. Structurally, it
is a mathematically rigorous steel space frame, primarily of pentagonal and hexagonal cells.
Materially, it is clad inside and out with ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene (ETFE) cushions whose
translucent skin captures and translates water’s natural transient and organic properties to a
new context that is ancient, landlocked and manmade. The winning design consortium
comprised the Australian architectural firm PTW, Arup (Australia) and China State Construction
Engineering Corporation – Shenzhen Design Institute. This paper examines the success of the
consortium in the light of innovation theory: it considers the drivers behind the collaborative
effort, the structure and characteristics of the design team, and the role of technology transfer in
the innovation process. Research shows that innovation in the construction industry is linked to
a demand for radically new types of buildings and structures. The Beijing Games have provided
such a demand as its purpose-built facilities strive to couple challenging programmatic
requirements with cultural aspirations.
The Water Cube is a unique coalescence of Chinese cultural traditions, favouring axial arrangements and rectilinearity in the built environment, with current Western trends towards asymmetric organic forms and structures derived from nature. It has been achieved by the transfer of digital technology to architecture and engineering and by the application of an emergent building material, ETFE. The dynamics of the teamwork approach to design provided rich multi-cultural perspectives and diverse technological know-how that allowed for technology transfer and innovation to take place.
The Water Cube is a unique coalescence of Chinese cultural traditions, favouring axial arrangements and rectilinearity in the built environment, with current Western trends towards asymmetric organic forms and structures derived from nature. It has been achieved by the transfer of digital technology to architecture and engineering and by the application of an emergent building material, ETFE. The dynamics of the teamwork approach to design provided rich multi-cultural perspectives and diverse technological know-how that allowed for technology transfer and innovation to take place.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | architecture, innovation, Water Cube, Beijing, Olympic |
| Research Division: | Built Environment and Design |
| Research Group: | Architecture |
| Research Field: | Architectural history, theory and criticism |
| Objective Division: | Culture and Society |
| Objective Group: | Understanding past societies |
| Objective Field: | Understanding Australia's past |
| UTAS Author: | Orr, K (Professor Kirsten Orr) |
| ID Code: | 107631 |
| Year Published: | 2007 |
| Deposited By: | Architecture |
| Deposited On: | 2016-03-21 |
| Last Modified: | 2016-04-13 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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