New glass build 'embodies freedom'

13:03:20 13th March 2008

The designers of the new Olympic stadium in Beijing are hopeful that the new structure will exemplify radical notions such as freedom.

Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron's glass edifice won the inaugural Design of the Year for Architecture award from the Design Museum in recent days, reports the Times.

Speaking to the publication, Mr Herzog notes that their architecture is designed for all five senses, describing their structures - which include the glass-encased Prada store in Tokyo and a glazed extension to the Tate Modern - as something of "a sensory whirlwind".

Regarding the Beijing structure, Mr de Meuron comments: "It's about disorder and order, apparent disorder. It seems random, chaotic, but there's a very clear structural rationale."

He adds that the aim was to create something that did not appear hierarchical and allowed guests to choose their own paths.

The stadium covers a total surface of 258,000 sq m and includes 91,000 seats.