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Beijing National Aquatics Center (Water Cube)

Beijing, China

Beijing National Aquatics Center (Water Cube)
Beijing National Aquatics Center (Water Cube)

The Beijing National Aquatics Center, or the “Water Cube,” was designed to host the swimming events for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Water Cube possesses one of the most innovative designs of the many buildings constructed for the 2008 Olympic games. One hundred thousand square meters of ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene) make up the transparent membrane of bubbles that cover the building’s exterior. Keeping the translucent bubbles in place is a curtain wall coated with Valspar’s Fluropon Classic in Bright Silver and Light Silver. The coating’s high-durability properties and resistance to weathering have kept the building looking good long past the 2008 Summer Olympics.