An overview of the recently inaugurated Peking University Gymnasium

Peking University Gymnasium

(BEIJING, Dec. 3) -- While walking on Zhongguancun Street, you can easily spot an elegant stadium standing north of China's famous "silicon valley." Its grayness has added an element of traditional Chinese culture to Zhongguancun, yet its contemporary rooftop helps it fit in perfectly with the landscape of Beijing's modern center. This is the 2008 Beijing Olympic table tennis venue. After more than two years of construction, the Peking University Gymnasium (PKG) has officially been inaugurated. This is the first professional sports venue dedicated to table tennis (ping pong) competition in the world, representing another great achievement in the progress of China's Olympic construction.

The gymnasium's "China Ridge" is the pride of Peking University. The design principle represents the sprit of Chinese integrity, Chinese modern education, Chinese sports, and traditional Chinese architecture. By merging the beauty of the long-established ridge design with the principle of "spacing" in modern architecture, another great innovation in Chinese architecture has been achieved.

The Peking University Gymnasium is located in the southwest area of Peking University's campus, which is approximately 8km from the Olympic Village. It is transportation accessible, situated just east of Zhongguancun Street and the 4th subway line. Peking University's "May Fourth Plaza" and the underground parking lot have provided hundreds of parking spaces for the venue. The nearby Zhibeizi Yuan and thousand-year-old trees have added some traditional Chinese flavor to this modern building. To the south of the PKG is the Peking University Resource Tower and the Law School is located on its northern side.

Covering 26,900 square meters, the gymnasium includes a natatorium and is 122.6 meters long from north to south and 87.7 meters wide from east to west. Its roof resembles a ping pong ball between two hyperbolic surfaces, which also represent PKG's purpose for the Olympics.

Innovative Design and Breakthrough Technology

The most complicated structure of the PKG is its steel dome roof. The central dome is 7 meters tall with a diameter of 24 meters. The most difficult design issue of the construction project was how to make the roof structure proportional to the building. To resolve this situation, NURBS technology was applied for the first time in China during the architectural design process. At the same time, the project has innovatively adapted a self-balancing, pre-stressing truss structured shell to form the central dome's bracing structure. The entire roof structure relies on a seven-part support system. The entire roof project has thoroughly displayed the concept of a "Hi-tech Olympics."

According to one of the design team members, the roof of this building is one of the most complicated Olympic construction projects, as all of the steel parts for the roof were connected and assembled above ground.

In order to ensure steel quality, the construction team selected the best supplier through a public application procedure. The steel that was to be used for the building went through an intensive inspection process, scrutinized by many experts. The roof structure of the PKG has exemplified the Olympic philosophy through its architectural language.