The National Beijing Stadium, nicknamed the ‘bird’s nest”, was the symbol and center of attraction of the 2008 Olympic Games. It is considered the world’s largest enclosed space. It has 91,000 stadium seats in an enormous saddle-shaped elliptic steel structure weighing 42,000t. The structure was designed by Herzog & De Meuron Architekten, Arup Sport and the China Architecture Design and Research Group. The idea was to build a world class stadium that has enough flexibility to be used for other purposes.

A lot of challenges were met in the construction of the stadium. Architects and engineers ensured comfortable seats and an optimum view for all spectators. It also took into account the fact that it was located in one of the world’s most earthquake prone locations. Costing 300 million pounds, it took about 5 years to construct. Work started in 2003 and ended in 2008.