The major nodal points of the inner membrane layer
on the competition hall of the National Aquatics Center were sealed off on
Saturday, laying a solid foundation for the completion of the whole project.
The fit-up process will follow soon and the center is expected to be
completed in late October. Its construction started on December 24, 2003.
Dubbed the "Water Cube," the center will be used for swimming, diving, water
polo and synchronized swimming events in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
The outside of center is covered by a membrane structure made of advanced
material called ETFE, or ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene. Over 100,000sqm of ETFE
foils were used, making this the single largest ETFE structure in the world to
date.
