Architecture and Nation Building in the Age of Globalization: Construction of the National Stadium of Beijing for the 2008 Olympics

ABSTRACT:

This study examines the relationship between architecture and nation building in the age of globalization, with an analysis of the debates and controversies about the National Stadium, the main sports venue for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The article argues that nationalism, along with the cultural ideology of global consumerism, drives the production of flagship architectural projects in China. The dilemma between nationalism and global consumerism has led state politicians and bureaucrats to opt for a global architectural language to narrate national ambitions. The study reveals the rationale underlying the search for global architecture among political elites in China, as well as its mixed consequences for local cultural discourses and politics.

Notes

1 From Wu, C. G. (2004). Beijing aoyun shoushen diaocha (Beijing Olympics “Diet” report). In Nanfang Daily, August 12, 2004.

2 From http://en.beijing2008.cn.

3 According to Polumbaum (2003), Beijing’s winning of the 2008 Games also came at a time period when the legitimacy of the IOC was in crisis after the Salt Lake City bidding scandal. By choosing Beijing, a non-Western city in a developing country, the IOC attempted to build a new Olympic image by emphasizing diversity, transparency, and multiculturalism.

4 From Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (2002). Olympic Action Plan. Retrieved on July 4, 2006, from http://www.beijing*2008.org/new_olympic/eolympic/plan.htm.

5 The popular protests against forced demolition have become a major source of social unrest in Beijing and other Chinese cities. For example, the site of the Olympic Park was occupied by thirty-three state enterprises, 721 collectives, and 5,700 households. The demolition started in August 2002. It took only four months to relocate all the households and enterprises. A total of 2.19 million square meters of existing structures were demolished. The statistics were released by Beijing Municipal Bureau of State Land and Resources in November 2002. See http://www.bjgtj.gov.cn.

6 From Olympic Action Plan (2002).

7 From Wu (2004).

8 From Beijing Municipal City Planning Commission (2004), The National Stadium, p. 9.

9 Ibid, p. 21.

10 Ibid, p. 37.

11 From the interview with Ai Weiwei, the artistic consultant for Herzog and de Meuron.

12 Olympic Action Plan (2002), p. 57.

13 Ibid, p. 53.

14 From Wu (2005)Beijing: Waiguo jianzhushi de shiyanchang (Beijing: A Laboratory for Foreign Architects). In South China Weekly, May 29, 2005.

15 From Wu (2005).

16 From Wu (2004).

17 The speech was delivered at the Seventh Plenary Session of the Ninth Beijing Committee of the Communist Party of China, July 24–25, 2004, Beijing. The document can be retrieved at http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2004/08/03/content_1695377.htm.

18 The new retrenchment policy had repercussions on other Olympic stadium projects. The number of stadiums to be newly built was reduced from nineteen to twelve. The number of stadiums to be renovated was reduced from thirteen to eleven. All other facilities will be temporary structures.

19 From the meeting memo of Forum on Olympic Architecture and Mega Projects in Beijing. The forum was held on August 24, 2004. The author was not present at the meeting, but secured the complete meeting memo (37,145 words) from one participant of the meeting. Later the author interviewed a few participants. Other quotes in this section are from the same document.