The National Speed Skating Hall at night. The National Speed Skating Hall is also known as the “Ice Ribbon”. The 22 ribbons are like the traces of athletes sliding over, symbolizing speed and passion.File photo/Photo by Li Kaixiang
The interior of the National Speed Skating Stadium.File photo/Photo by Beijing News reporter Tao Ran
Gao Tingyu at the Beijing Winter Olympics.File photo/Photo by Beijing News reporter Tao Ran
“The family came to the ‘Ice Ribbon’, the son practiced ice hockey, the daughter practiced figure skating, and the parents picked skates for their children in the store in the venue…” This is the scene Wu Xiaonan has always imagined. As the director of the operation team of the National Speed Skating Stadium during the Beijing Winter Olympics and the chairman of the Beijing National Speed Skating Stadium Management Co., Ltd., he and the team have long planned a blueprint for the post-match utilization of the “Ice Ribbon”.
From the laying of the first pile on January 23, 2018, to the completion of the first ice making on January 22, 2021, to the establishment of 10 Olympic records and 1 world record during the Beijing Winter Olympics, Gao Tingyu broke the Olympic record. Standing on the top podium, the “Ice Ribbon”, the only newly built ice competition venue, has gone through several milestones and is now standing at a new starting point. In the post-Winter Olympics era, the National Speed Skating Hall will strive to become an ice and snow sports center integrating sports events, mass fitness, cultural leisure, exhibitions, social welfare and other functions, and become a new landmark for the people to experience a better life in winter. It will also be a bright business card to show the development of ice and snow sports in China.
“ribbon” flying
“China Plan” sets a new benchmark
The National Speed Skating Stadium “Ice Ribbon” is located in the Beijing Olympic Park, to the south of the National Tennis Center. This area used to house the hockey field and archery field temporarily constructed for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. On July 31, 2015, the Beijing Winter Olympics bid was successful, and the National Speed Skating Stadium took over the baton from the Summer Olympics venue.
Every time I look back on the construction process of the “Ice Ribbon”, Wu Xiaonan always mentions 6 key words, intensive cultivation, rising from the ground, weaving the sky, flying ribbons, the fastest ice and wisdom of the pavilion, and the words reveal pride and beauty Of course, there are also little-known hardships behind it.
The underground structure of “Ice Ribbon” is elliptical and arc-shaped, and the project is complicated and the construction period is tight. Since the first pile was laid on January 23, 2018, the construction team has overcome various challenges, and at most more than 2,000 operators have fought together. 654 foundation piles were driven, 270,000 cubic meters of earthwork was excavated, 20,000 tons of steel bars were bound, and 91,000 cubic meters of concrete was poured. It took 155 days. On June 26, 2018, “Ice Ribbon” completed the underground structure project as scheduled, realizing the “Ice Ribbon”. Intensive Cultivation” goal.
The “rising” of the main structure also reflects “China’s speed”. Thanks to independent technological innovation, the steel structure ring truss achieves efficient and high-precision construction. The grandstand board has 1191 components, with various sizes and radians. Each component is coded through the arc prefabrication technology, which realizes precise installation and is assembled into a grand grandstand.
The “woven sky” is the perfect embodiment of the “Chinese plan” in the construction of the venue. According to Li Jiulin, chief engineer of the National Speed Skating Hall, the “Ice Ribbon” has built the world‘s largest span of an orthogonal two-way saddle-shaped cable-net roof. The cable net is made of domestic high-vanadium closed cables. It is assembled by weaving 49 pairs of load-bearing cables and 30 pairs of stabilizing cables to a cable-mesh roof with a long span of 198 meters and a short span of 124 meters, and then laying 1080 4×4-meter unit roof panels. .
The flying of 22 “ribbons” is the first impression of the National Speed Skating Hall, and the first thing that catches the eye is the original curved glass curtain wall. The 3,360 curved glass units have different sizes and curvatures. Through mechanical and manual operations, they are perfectly embedded in the frame made of 160 S-shaped steel keels. The circling “ribbon” symbolizes the speed skaters left when the skates skate at high speed. trajectory.
Li Jiulin said that the steel structure of the “Bird’s Nest” is an important legacy left by the Beijing Olympic Games, and the “Ice Ribbon” has formed new highlights in the aspects of large-span cable-net structure roof, localization of materials, green venues, and smart venues. Wu Xiaonan sighed that the “Chinese Solution” composed of Chinese design, Chinese technology, Chinese material and Chinese manufacturing has set a new benchmark for the Olympics in terms of greenness, environmental protection and sustainability.
Environmentally friendly ice making
‘Fastest ice’ carbon emissions to zero
The underground structure and main structure are completed, the roof “weaving” is completed, and the curved glass curtain wall is completed. In a blink of an eye, on January 22, 2021, the National Speed Skating Hall completed the first ice making. It took only 3 years. Renderings become reality.
Like engineering construction, ice-making work also faces the problem of “feasible in theory, but without precedent in reality”. In order to make the “fastest ice”, the construction team visited experts, learned from everywhere, repeatedly discussed and demonstrated, and finally decided to adopt the world‘s most advanced and environmentally friendly carbon dioxide transcritical direct cooling ice-making technology.
Experts from international individual sports organizations once said that the national speed skating hall can meet the standards of the Winter Olympics by using the environmentally friendly ice-making technology that is commonly used in the world.
After 18 months of exploration, the construction team turned over the information on the refrigeration system of the speed skating halls of the previous Winter Olympics, analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of all refrigerants one by one, and finally came up with a more advanced ice-making technology. Using the same amount of traditional refrigerants, carbon emissions are 3985 times that of CO2 refrigerants, CO2 refrigerant ODP (Ozone Depleting Potential) is 0, GWP (Global Warming Potential) is only 1, and carbon emissions are close to zero .
The total ice surface design of the National Speed Skating Stadium reaches 12,000 square meters, making it “the largest in Asia”. The horizontal height difference of the concrete ice layer is controlled at about 4 mm, and there are nearly 130 kilometers of ice coils under the ice layer.
Canadian senior ice maker Mark Maiser is a crucial “international element” in this “Chinese plan”. He has won the trust of the International Skating Federation. Participated in ice making at the Winter Olympics. The experienced Mark communicated with the Chinese team continuously, so that the carbon dioxide transcritical direct cooling ice-making technology was successfully applied to the Winter Olympics.
In order to adapt to the new ice-making technology and make the ice-making water achieve the optimal conductivity, Mark adjusted the ratio of purified water and tap water with his own experience, and constantly communicated details with the person in charge of the refrigeration system and dehumidification system. A very flat ice surface with uniform hardness and negligible temperature differences.
The innovative technology not only improves the efficiency of ice making and the quality of ice surface, but also saves energy and protects the environment. After the waste heat generated by carbon dioxide refrigeration is recovered, it can be used for domestic hot water for athletes, ice melting in ice melting pools, ice surface maintenance and watering, dehumidification and regeneration, etc. It can heat the stadium management room, save electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
use after the game
Build an ice and snow sports center that integrates multiple functions
The National Speed Skating Stadium “Ice Ribbon”, the National Stadium “Bird’s Nest” and the National Aquatics Center “Water Cube” belong to the same owner, Beijing State-owned Assets Company, which undertakes sports events, cultural creativity, high-end exhibitions, Olympic tourism and other activities. , so that the “Bird’s Nest” and “Water Cube” have never left the public eye for more than ten years. With the valuable experience accumulated in the operation of the Summer Olympic venues, the “Ice Ribbon” has a high starting point and a long-term plan for the post-match utilization of the Winter Olympic venues.
“Ice Ribbon” will strive to become an ice and snow sports center integrating sports events, mass fitness, cultural leisure, exhibitions, social welfare and other functions, and become a bright business card for the development of ice and snow sports in my country.
With the advantage of 12,000 square meters of full ice surface design, and the technology of zonal cooling and control, the post-match utilization of the “Ice Ribbon” is indeed full of various possibilities.
In addition to the standard 400-meter speed skating track, there are two standard ice rinks in the center of the venue. The temperature of each ice surface can be controlled individually according to needs, and ice sports such as short track speed skating, ice hockey, figure skating and curling can be carried out. At the same time, it can accommodate about 2,000 people on the ice to meet the needs of everyone participating in different ice sports. It can also help professional athletes to train and hold ice events at all levels.
When open to the public, many areas of the National Speed Skating Stadium can be quickly transformed from the state of the competition to supporting facilities for national fitness, sports training and entertainment and leisure. The venue will retain certain elements of the Winter Olympics, and at the same time incorporate more Chinese elements. Well-designed photo spots are available for everyone to “check in”, and the display area is convenient for everyone to understand and participate in ice and snow sports.
In addition, the park will build a Winter Olympics cultural cluster of “one lake, one track, one track”. “One Lake” refers to the lake on the side of the “Ice Ribbon”, which can be turned into an outdoor ice rink like Shichahai in winter. The “One” football field is a tribute to the Summer Olympics, the area that was the venue for the 2008 Paralympic Games for the blind. The “One Track” is a cross-country skiing and biathlon track that could host some winter sports events in the future.
“I look forward to more ice and snow lovers to experience the ‘fastest ice’. There may be more outstanding athletes among them, and the ice and snow culture will take root among the masses.” Wu Xiaonan has many beautiful visions in his heart, just waiting for the future step by step It is also expected that the “Ice Ribbon” will become an important window for the development of China’s ice and snow sports.
During the Beijing Winter Olympics, the “Ice Ribbon” created 1 world record and 10 Olympic records
world record
●February 11 Men’s 10,000m final
Sweden’s Vanderpool 12:30.74
Olympic record
●February 5th women’s 3000m finals Holland’s Schauten 3:56.93
●February 6 Men’s 5000m final
Holland’s Rust 6:09.31
●February 6 Men’s 5000m final
Sweden’s Vanderpour 6:08.84 (same event)
●February 7 Women’s 1500m final
Dutch player West 1:53.28
●February 8 men’s 1500m final
Holland’s Kroll 1:43.55
●February 8 men’s 1500m final
Dutch player Ness 1:43.21 (same event)
●February 10 Women’s 5000m final
Holland’s Schouten 6:43.51
●February 11 Men’s 10,000m final
Sweden’s Vanderpool 12:30.74
●February 12th Women’s Team Pursuit 1/4 Finals
Team Japan 2:53.61
●February 15 Women’s Team Pursuit Final
Team Canada 2:53.44 (same event)
●February 12 Men’s 500m final
China’s Gao Tingyu 34.32
●February 15 Men’s Team Pursuit Semifinals
Russian Olympic Committee 3:36.62
●February 17 Women’s 1000m final
Japanese player Miho Takagi 1 minute 13 seconds 19