New Beijing Architecture

The NY Times has done another nice audio slideshow, this time of some of the amazing buildings that are going up related to the Olympics. They have mini reviews of:

• Rem Koolhaas’s awesomely imposing CCTV building
• Paul Andreu’s beautiful “floating” National Theater
• Herzog and de Meuron’s delicate but gigantic National Stadium (above)
• Norman Foster’s new terminal at the Beijing airport - not visually that innovative, but it is truly gigantic and if placed atop Manhatten would stretch the entire width of the island. Just hope that if you have to do a transfer you don’t get gates at opposite ends!
  
• The “bubble-icious” National Aquatic Center that stores water to get heated by the sun in the building exterior, to be cycled into the pool (exterior detail and interior view below)

Definitely makes me wish I could check out the Olympics just for some architecture gazing.

View the slideshow