Populous share design influences for the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing

January 28, 2022

With 4th February marking the start of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, global sports architecture firm Populous are sharing background and design influences for the only permanent new venue - the National Speed Skating Oval (NSSO).

Designed as a spectacular new landmark by Populous, after winning an international design competition in 2016, the ‘Ice Ribbon’ was created as a symbol of Chinese cultural heritage that celebrates the elegance, precision, pace and dynamic of speed skating.

As a 12,000 seat venue, the NSSO is the main venue for the Winter Olympics speed skating competition and will host the awarding of 14 gold medals while also having been designed to also provide a community sport and training venue after the Games.

The stunning ‘Ice Ribbon’ will stand alongside the ‘Bird’s Nest’ and ‘Water Cube’ which were built for the 2008 Summer Olympics precinct making Beijing the only city in the world to host both a Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

Populous Senior Principal and co-Project Director on NSSO Andrew James said to be selected as the chief designer of an Olympic sports venue was a huge honour and notes “the winning design for the ‘Ice Ribbon’ was created in an intense time frame and was forged through several concepts and many iterations to develop a spinning concept into its final form.

“It became a global effort with our team in Beijing, Brisbane, India, London and America drawing on our experience from Oval Lingotto in Turin, Italy and our design of Fisht Stadium in Russia, home of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.”

When reflecting on the characteristics of Olympic speed skating, Tiric Chang, Principal of Populous in China and the co-Project Director of the NSSO drew on childhood memories of growing up in Beijing to create a beautiful interpretation of Chinese culture and heritage.

His childhood memory of a traditional winter game in Beijing - ‘ice tops’ - provided much of the inspiration for the conceptual design for the NSSO’s ‘Ice Ribbon’. Having lived in Beijing since he was a child, Chang has vivid memories of wintertime in the capital city, laughing and playing with his young friends around the ice tops in the Shichahai Park ice rink.

“The traditional ice game in old Beijing involved a high-speed spinning and leaping ice top that seemed to have infinite energy and possibilities.

“That’s what I thought of when reflecting on the characteristics of Olympic speed skating. So, the ice tops became part of the design inspiration injecting a strong Chinese memory into the venue,” Chang said.

In addition to its aesthetics, the design process for the NSSO was also thoroughly considered in terms of its practical functions to meet the requirements on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Skating Union (ISU). Importantly, the design also adds to the intense and exciting atmosphere where every movement and sound of the speed skating blades can be seen and heard by everyone in the oval.

“Aesthetics and practicality are perfectly unified in the design of NSSO,” said Chang adding "the NSSO’s distinctive façade celebrates the precision, pace and drama of speed skating and takes its place in the iconic Olympic Park, complementing Beijing’s ‘Bird’s Nest’ and the ‘Water Cube’."

The light strands (or ribbons) flow up and around the Oval, cocooning it to a height of some 33.8 metres. This ‘shell’ secures a high level of visitor comfort and amenity, in keeping with it being the world leading speed skating venue for competitors and spectators.

At night, the facade creates an exciting spectacle, with each of the strands becoming dynamic ribbons of light, able to change to an endless array of lighting programs.

The client, Beijing National Speed Skating Oval Operation Co. said the ‘Ice Ribbon’ demonstrates the excellence of Populous’ design and justified their international reputation in sports architecture.

Following the Games, the NSSO design’s legacy allows the transformation of the facility to serve its long-term purpose as a real hub for the community, to hold Winter festivals, public ice skating, ice hockey or private ice-based shows and events.

This legacy design will support the Chinese Central Government’s Ice and Snow Sports Development Plan which aims to involve 300 million people in ice and snow sports by 2025 and the IOC’s ‘Agenda 2020’ to ensure there is real cost-benefit.

Image: Populous NSSO External Aerial Night taken under construction

search ausleisure

AusLeisure

Latest News