Discover the architecture of the 2022 Winter Olympics stadiums

The 2022 Winter Olympics are taking place until February 20 in Beijing, China, and have been attracting attention due to the architecture of the stadiums where the competitions are taking place. Most of the venues are not new , with some built for the 2008 Summer Olympics that took place in the capital. This system of reusing stadiums follows the precedent set by the Tokyo Olympics, which the organizing committee has touted as a more sustainable approach. Below, learn a little more about the architecture of each stadium that is hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics competitions.

Beijing National Stadium, by Herzog & de Meuron

Better known as the Bird's Nest , this Herzog & de Meuron -designed stadium is easily recognizable as the main venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympics thanks to its steel truss envelope. No sporting events will take place here, but the 80,000-seat stadium, for which acclaimed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was a design consultant, reprises its role as host of the opening and closing ceremonies of the upcoming Winter Games.

Beijing National Aquatics Center by PTW Architects

Designed by a consortium including Australian studio PTW Architects , the National Aquatics Centre is another 2008 Olympic Games venue that is being repurposed for the Winter Olympics. Organizers say it has been transformed into the Ice Cube with the addition of ice-making equipment and climate control. Instead of hosting swimming and diving, this time it will function as a curling rink .

National Speed Skating Oval, by Populous

Designed by stadium architecture studio Populous , the National Speed Skating Oval is the only new venue built in Beijing's Olympic Park for the 2022 Winter Games, having been built on the site of the hockey and archery fields. used in 2008. It has been nicknamed the Ice Ribbon in reference to the 22 strands of lights that encircle the stadium. Architects promise that the 12,000 spectators will hear "every sound of skates on the ice" around the 400-meter running track.

Beijing National Indoor Stadium by Glöckner Architekten GmbH

Another 2008 legacy venue with a comical nickname – in this case, The Fan , due to its resemblance to a traditional Chinese folding fan – the National Indoor Stadium will swap rhythmic gymnastics, trampolining and handball for ice hockey at Beijing 2022. The 20,000-seat arena was designed by German firm Glöckner Architekten GmbH.

Wukesong Sports Center by David Manica and the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design

It will share the responsibility of hosting ice hockey at the next Olympics with the National Indoor Stadium, making use of an ice rink that can be converted into a basketball court in less than six hours. Golden ribbons of perforated aluminum wrap the building, designed by David Manica while working for HOK Sport – now Populous – in association with the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design.

Big Air Shougang, by TeamMinus

Perhaps the most eye-catching structure to appear on this list, Big Air Shougang is among a small number of new venues being built for Beijing 2022 that will host the extreme ski jumping and snowboarding “big air” events. According to the games’ organizers, It is the world's first large permanent aerial structure. The venue was designed by TeamMinus , a studio led by Professor Zhang Li , who also heads the Institute of Architectural Design and Research at Tsinghua University. Clad in colorful perforated aluminum panels, it was built on the site of one of Beijing's largest former steel mills , with the plant's four industrial cooling towers still standing guard.

Capital Indoor Stadium, by Ming Xiong

Built in 1968, the Capital Indoor Stadium hosted table tennis matches in 1971 as part of the ping-pong diplomacy program credited with thawing relations between the U.S. and China during the Cold War. The arena was renovated before the 2008 Olympics, where the volleyball tournament was held, and the figure skating and short track speed skating competitions will take place there.

National Landslide Center, by Atelier Li Xinggang

This 1,975-meter-long sliding track, in the Yanqing Winter Olympic Zone , 75 kilometers north of Beijing, features a wooden roof along its entire length and will host the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge events. China's first sliding centre, and only the third to be built in Asia, was designed by architect Li Xinggang 's studio within the China Architecture Design & Research Group, which also designed the Yangqing Olympic Village and the National Alpine Ski Centre.

National Ski Jumping Center, by TeamMinus

Another new venue for Beijing 2022 designed by TeamMinus , the National Ski Jumping Centre has been nicknamed Snow Ruyi because of its resemblance to a Ruyi, a traditional Chinese talisman associated with power and good fortune. At the top of the slope is a 40-meter-high circular platform containing a panoramic restaurant , with a judges' tower in the middle and a stadium at the bottom. The center will host the ski jumping and Nordic combined events at this year's Winter Olympics, before becoming a training center for Chinese athletes and tourist resort . It is located in the Zhangjiakou zone of the Games, a popular skiing destination 180 kilometers northwest of Beijing , to which visitors will be transported by a newly built intercity railway . Source: Deezen