Modern Architecture in Beijing
In a city with such a high concentration of monuments included in the UNESCO World Heritage list, one can spend hours strolling through the vestiges of China's imperial past, passing through walkways covered with glazed tiles, circulating among the coloured palaces of the royal family's residences, observing the golden motifs that adorn the iridescent red and blue walls of the temples.
Among these historical monuments and expanses of anonymous office buildings, Beijing also hides pearls of contemporary architecture that are not to be missed.
Here's the Top 3.
CCTV TOWER
Located in Beijing's financial district, the National TV headquarter is housed in a unique skyscraper designed by OMA Architects in 2004. It consists of a parallelepiped that wraps itself in a ribbon, framing an impressive empty central space. The facade is inlaid by geometric motifs that follow the structure.
The building is a real stronghold, and besides not being able to access the surrounding fenced space, strictly guarded, it is not even allowed to take pictures from outside. A careful handful of guards and a capillary network of cameras guard the passers-by, and after taking a few shots, I was ordered not to take any more photographs. So, you'll have to find another position, and maybe use a zoom to take some souvenir-pics.
GALAXY SOHO
Shopping centre and office hub built in 2012 and designed by Zaha Hadid, it is a complex of four ovoid structures interconnected by raised passages that intersect in a series of sinuous lines running along the entire perimeter and following one another in an orderly and fluid sequence of planes marked by imposing white floors. A futuristic space that changes as you move inside and offers unusual perspective views.
OLYMPIC PARK
If you want to see live the stadiums that we all admired in 2008 during the Beijing Olympics, you can go to this gigantic assembly of sports facilities in the middle of an oversized space that today remains empty and ploughed by some disorientated tourists. The space is pervaded by the soundtrack of the Olympics, echoing since 10 years in the speakers, between the gigantic stadiums and the tiny trees in the cement
An immense empty expanse, from which some architectural structures emerge, such as the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, respectively the national stadium and the aquatic centre designed by Herzog & de Meuron.
The Bird's nest, so called because of its characteristic shape, consists of a forest of steel columns that intersect and bend inward, while the Water cube is a simple parallelepiped surrounded by a plastic membrane that consists of air-filled cushions simulating soap bubbles, with a characteristic blue nuance.
