Bird's Nest—Herzog & De Meuron in China

Bird’s Nest follows Swiss star architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron (London's Tate Modern, Barcelona Forum, San Francisco’s de Young Museum) as they literally and metaphorically build bridges between two cultures, two architectural traditions, and two political systems. Their goal was to create a massive 91,000-seat stadium in the heart of Beijing that would be a new kind of public space—“anti-monumental, a building for the people”—to endure long after the Olympic torch was extinguished. The Chinese people nicknamed the stadium “Bird’s Nest” early on; by naming it, they adopted it as their own. The stadium and their design for a new city district in Jinhua—involving hotels, offices, and residential buildings—reveal that these architects find solutions not in the comfort of the theoretical, but in cultural encounters with a society in rapid transition.

Free for members or with Museum admission. Film only: $8 general, $7 students and seniors.

Sponsored by the NW China Council.

Whitsell Auditorium