| Digital Beijing Building | |
|---|---|
数字北京大厦 | |
 South and west elevations, 2013 | |
 | |
| Etymology | Original use as data center |
| General information | |
| Location | Beichen West and Anxiang North roads |
| Address | Olympic Green, Chaoyang District |
| Town or city | Beijing |
| Country | China |
| Coordinates | 39°59′38″N 116°22′54″E / 39.99396°N 116.38173°E |
| Construction started | 2005 |
| Completed | 3 November 2007 |
| Height | 57 metres (187 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Reinforced concrete and steel |
| Floor count | 11 |
| Floor area | 98,000 m2 (1.05 million sq. ft) |
| Grounds | 16,000 m2 (170,000 sq ft)[1] |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Pei Zhu |
| Known for | Only major Olympic Green facility designed by a Chinese architect |
The Digital Beijing Building (simplified Chinese: 数字北京大厦; traditional Chinese: 數字北京大廈; pinyin: Shùzì běijīng dàshà) is located northwest of the intersection of Beichen West and Anxiang North roads, on Olympic Green, in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, China. It is a 57-metre-tall (187 ft) block-shaped building erected to serve as a data center during the 2008 Summer Olympics. Since then it has served as both a museum devoted to the use of computing in the Olympics, and exhibition space for digital technology companies.[2]
It was the only major facility on Olympic Green not to be an event venue for the games,[3] and the only major Olympic facility designed by a Chinese architect.[4] That architect, Pei Zhu, was interested in the connections between traditional Chinese design and digital technology. He produced a sustainable building that resembles a circuit board when viewed from either side and a bar code when viewed from either end,[5] in the process using some new materials for the first time in China. It has been both praised for its avoidance of kitsch[4] and criticized as resembling Orwell's Ministry of Truth.[6] At the 2008 World Architecture Festival it was shortlisted in its category.[7]
- ^ Soon, Alvin (August 2008). "The Technology Behind the Olympics (That You'll Never See)". Hardware Mag. Singapore: SPH Publications: 41. ISSN 0219-5607. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ^ "Digital Beijing Building, Beijing, China". Mondo Arc (44). August–September 2008. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Beijing Olympic Green". Manchester School of Architecture. 2010. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ^ a b Goldberger, Paul (2009). Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture. New York: Monaceilli Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781580932646. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
Although China's wealth owes much to its burgeoning export industries, for the Olympics the country has been contento to play the reverse role, buying the most futuristic architecture the rest of the world has to offer, rather than showcasing native talent. The work of Chinese architects has been relegated to a jumble of functional but uninspiring buildings ... An important exception is Digital Beijing, a control center on Olympic Green, designed by a Chinese firm, Studio Pei Zhu
- ^ Miller, Rich (6 June 2008). "Digital Beijing: The Olympic Data Center". Data Center Knowwledge. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ^ Dyckhoff, Tom (22 June 2008). "An Olympic nightmare in Beijing". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ Zhu, Pei (2007). "Digital Beijing". Worldbuildingsdirectory.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
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