The preliminary structural design of the project has been performed for an international competition within the framework of the preparation of China for the Olympic Games of Beijing in 2008. The National Swimming Centre is one of the three main projects of the Olympic Green (together with the Olympic Stadium and the National Gymnasium) and besides its important function during the games it will also serve as an aquatic leisure centre during its post Olympic use. The project includes the Main Dome structure which houses all competition swimming and diving activities, the internal superstructures which incorporate the permanent and temporary stands and the underground structures which include storage and E/M equipment areas as well as parking facilities. Additionally, the swimming centre includes other ground structures for warm-up and leisure activities. The main structure is a dome with ellipsoidal shape and overall dimensions 155 x 118m and 45m high consisting of a single–layer triangular steel mesh. The shell structural behavior of the dome allowed the use of circular hollow sections of relatively small diameter (the maximum is 660mm) with respect to the overall unsupported span of the structure. The static and seismic analysis performed accounted also for the elastoplastic behavior of the materials as well as the geometric nonlinearities.

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Architectural Design: Decathlon S.A.

Structural Design: PMA Engineering

E/M Design: Triedros S.A.