Photo courtesy of Herzog & DE Meuron

A design with a birds' nest-like enclosure has been selected for Beijing's $500-million stadium, which will be the centerpiece for the 2008 Olympic Games. The operable roof stadium was designed by a team that includes Swiss-based Herzog & de Meuron Architekten A.G., Basle, with China Architecture Design and Research Group, formerly part of the Ministry of Construction, and ArupSport, London. Planned to hold 100,000 people during the games, the stadium will later be converted to an 80,000-seat facility. The stadium's enclosure features 1.5-meter-deep steel box girders that form 20 primary trusses linked with secondary and tertiary members.