by Linda Shan

The National Aquatics Center, also known as the "Water Cube," illuminated with colour in Beijing on August 7. Chinese architect Zhao Xiaojun may not have won a gold medal but the Shanghai architect who helped create the iconic bubble-clad Water Cube is reaping the rewards of Olympic glory [Photo: AFP/File/Greg Wood]

SHANGHAI (AFP) - Zhao Xiaojun may not have won a gold medal, but the Shanghai architect who helped create the iconic bubble-clad Water Cube is already reaping the rewards of Olympic glory.
 
The record-breaking exploits of US swimmer Michael Phelps turned a global spotlight on Beijing's National Aquatics Center, which was built with an exterior that looks as delicate as soap bubbles.

And for Zhao, the Olympic Games have brought very welcome attention.

"People tell me it is a magic swimming pool because swimmers broke so many world records in these past few days," the 41-year-old architect told AFP.

Zhao's firm China Construction Design International teamed up with Australia's PTW Architects and London-based engineers Arup to build the award-winning building.

Initially, the Australian architects suggested the building should have a wavy design, conveying the sense of water in motion, but after weeks of discussion Zhao said his team won the case for a very Chinese reading of water: calm, serene and untroubled.

"It may not appear stunning at first sight, but if you take a second look, you will feel peace and a profound sense of beauty," he said.

In his four-story concrete office surrounded by a green bamboo grove, Zhao, dressed in a black Mandarin collar suit, performed a tea ritual as he explained how the Water Cube has led to an unexpected bonanza.

A combination of sports fever and regional governments eager to show their economic achievements has led provincial cities to court Zhao's services for stadium projects in the hope he can repeat the Water Cube's success.

They include Jinan Olympic park in east China's Shandong province, the venue for China's national games next year, Taiyuan sports centre in Shanxi province and Hohhot sports centre in Inner Mongolia, both in north China.

His firm has grown dramatically from 200 people five years ago to more than 1,800 today with revenues rising about 80 percent annually, and turnover expected to top 800 million yuan (120 million dollars) this year.

Zhao said the firm put so much work into the Water Cube -- which reportedly cost 1.35 billion yuan and was mostly paid for by donations from overseas Chinese -- that it actually incurred a loss on the project.

But that work has more than paid off in other ways.

The Water Cube's prestige has helped attract top talent and the experience of working on such a massive project has been invaluable, Zhao said.

"It's the best card you could play in business," Zhao said. "Even your competitors understand how much hardship you have to endure to finish a mega-project like that."

The approval process for the Water Cube was not easy, Zhao said.

The venue's key component is the translucent polymer ethylene tetrafluoroethylene, or ETFE, that forms the 3,065 pockets that cover the steel structure.

The material is said to be 100 times lighter than glass, while allowing in more light and insulating better. Before the Water Cube, it was most famously used in the Eden Project in Cornwall, England.

But to convince the jury that the plastic facade could withstand Beijing's tough weather, Zhao's company spent heavily on trials to test the materials.

The environment inside was designed with swimmers and speed in mind, from the air temperature to tiny bubble in the pool to break surface tension and depth and gutters designed to reduce waves.

After the Games end, the building will begin it's new life as the 17,000 seats will be cut to 6,000 and the extra space will be converted into a community recreation centre, Zhao said.

There have also been some surprising spin-offs building on the Water Cube's brand. Zhao said he heard a Canadian company had won a contract to sell glacier water with the Water Cube's distinctive bubbles moulded into the bottle.

Wang Ming, one of Zhao's former designer partners, had already started her own workshop to develop accessories and furniture lines echoing the Water Cube's distinctive bubbles.