The final blueprint of the Wukesong Cultural and Sports Center will
be chosen from among several designs by the US architecture company
Sasaki Associates and one
design by Burckhardt+Partner AG of Switzerland, a top official with
the Beijing Municipal City Planning Committee announced Monday.
The two companies tied for second prize on July 14 in the global
design competition for the Wukesong Center. First prize was not
awarded as no design was deemed well enough for the top prize.
"The detailed layout will be submitted to the Beijing municipal
government by early September for approval after being evaluated by
experts," Huang Yan, vice-director of the planning committee, said
Monday.
Huang emphasized that the final layout will be amended on the basis
of opinions from residents all over the city.
Different from the experts' choices, the design by the Beijing
Urban Architecture Design Institute in partnership with Canadian
design company ABCP topped the audience voting during an open
exhibition at the Beijing International Convention Center, which
closed Monday.
The design won an "excellent" prize in the previous global
competition, after the five winning plans were named first, second
and third-rated layouts for Wukesong Center.
"Although many residents appreciated this design very much, it
lacks feasibility," said Chen Jianjun, an official with the
planning committee.
"However, we will adopt the advantages of this design as much as
possible as an act of respecting audiences' opinions," Chen
said.
Nearly 50,000 people visited the 14-day free exhibition of proposed
layouts of Olympic Green and Wukesong Cultural and Sports Center,
the close of which was postponed for three days due to unexpected
audience flow.
The audience came from all walks of life, including professionals,
students, the retired and other residents from Beijing, as well as
other provinces, according to sources from the planning committee,
which organized the exhibition.
Nearly 10 percent of the visitors voted for their favorite and more
than 1,200 people wrote advice and complaints in the visitors'
books.
"We express our sincere thanks to our citizens for their passion to
take part in the preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games in
Beijing," said Huang.
Some deputies to the Beijing Municipal People's Congress also
offered advice on the construction of Olympic venues.
Ma
Xinyun, a member of the congress' culture, health and sports
committee and director of the Xuanwu District Sports Commission
pointed out that the construction of different venues should take
the characteristics of various sports into consideration to avoid
possible inconvenience for athletes.
Ma
also advised connecting most venues by metro and light railway to
make entry and exit smooth.
During a visit to the exhibition on Thursday, Vice-Premier Li
Lanqing emphasized that all relevant departments should cooperate
closely in venue construction and other preparations for the 2008
Games.
(China
Daily July 30, 2002)