A scheme jointly designed by Swiss and Chinese architects has been picked as the design of the National Stadium -- the main stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games, the Beijing Urban Planning Commission (BUPU) announced in Beijing on Friday.
The scheme worked out by a consortium of Switzerland's Herzog & de Meuron Architekten AG and the China Architecture Design & Research Group, polled eight out of 13 votes to defeat the other two short-listed designs for the honor, the BUPU said.
An evaluation panel made up of 13 architects and experts from five countries had picked out the three schemes from 13 prequalified candidates on Tuesday.
"The design is a perfect combination of elegance and simplicity," said Guang Zhaoye, chairman of the evaluation panel.
"Every part of the conceptual stadium is functional," he added.
The winning scheme will provide a basis for the final design of the National Stadium with more detailed architectural plans to be drawn up, the BUPU said.
The 80,000-seat National Stadium, located in the south of the Olympic Green, will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as track-and-field events during the 2008 Olympics.
The construction work of the National Stadium is set to start on December 24.
(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2003)
