Studio Air Journal

THE Water Cube Beijing national aquatic centre Taking the structure of soap bubbles as inspiration (and mimicking nature’s way of filling 3-d space most efficiently), PTW Architects and Arup gave the Cube an elegant, lightweight design: a rectangular box covered in iridescent bubble wrap. The 100,000 square meters of the Teflonlike translucent plastic ETFE that make up the building’s bubble cladding allow in more solar heat than glass, making it easier to heat the building, and resulting in a 30 percent reduction in energy costs. The futuristic LED-lit bubbles not only act as adjustable insulators, turning the building into a greenhouse, but also serve as storehouses for warm air that can be pumped into the Cube as needed.