Facilities'design and building works reflect local, Olympic sports'culture and values

In the city never lacking surreal sci-fi-like edifices from Galaxy Soho to the Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing will embrace one more futurist building soon, as the design for the National Speed Skating Oval was unveiled in late April.

Beijing's latest Olympic facility, according to the public unveiling, will feature a round exterior decorated with warm lights that look like fast-moving "ice silk ribbons" from a distance.

The round arena - about 211 meters in length from north to south and 160 meters in width from east to west - will be able to host 12,000 guests at one time, with a track stretching 400 meters.

First proposed in 2016, the building is the only new venue planned to be built for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in 2022.

Neighboring the Water Cube (the National Aquatics Center) and Bird's Nest (the National Stadium), two landmarks built for the previous games, the 55-meter-tall giant will be located in the south of the Olympic Park.

How to make the use of a sport venue built specifically for the international games is always a consideration of host cities' planners. And Beijing has given the answer, the same answer they provided in the past: to use the new venue as a public sport center, just like the Bird's Nest, Water Cube and Master Card Center.

Tian Juqing, deputy head of the Olympic Park commission, said they will make the best use of what was built for the 2008 games.

The temporary archery and hockey venues were demolished to make room for the newcomer. After the winter games, the speedskating arena will be a permanent place for ice sports training.

"One tough question during the design is to consider how to make a post-Games use," said a senior staff of Beijing Bureau of Urban Planning.

"The control system needs to be able to control the venue as a whole for the game, but controls for several other individual sectors must also be installed for further use."

It is said that although such a design will make the planning harder and require higher ice-making and temperature-control technology, it will enable the venue for sustainable use in the long run.

Jan Dijkema, president of the International Skating Union, has spoken highly of the project.

"It is China's speedskating arena, it is Beijing's speedskating arena, and it will become an excellent landmark in the future."

According to the official, the project officially started in April and is expected to be finished by the end of 2019. It will have its first test show in the beginning of 2020.

The other 11 Beijing sport venues from the previous games will be used for the 2022 Winter Olympics, and neighboring cities such as city Zhangjiakou will also host part of the game.

As Yang Shu'an, vice-minister of the General Administration of Sports of China, said, there is still a big challenge as China lacks professional players.

And winter sports, in particular, need new blood.

The new arena is expected to help China cultivate more players as it will provide a convenient, fully-equipped and accessible training venue in the future.

renxiaojin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/14/2017 page30)