For large-scale sports events, whether Logo, mascot or opening ceremony, it has become an important part of examining the aesthetic and design level of each country.
Besides the appearance already “ice pier pier” and “snow rong rong”, the long letter lamp that lights a torch, the landscape painting on dress, concentric circle jade in medal, each place design contains deep “Oriental beauty”.
Posters of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics
Xiangshengju authors: Hang Hai, Lin Fan, Liu Dian
01
Oriental aesthetics from ancient times to the present
Venue design has always been a major aspect of the Olympic Games, the Winter Olympic Games is no exception. The venue design of the Beijing Winter Olympics, from the very beginning, put the transmission of Chinese culture as one of the main topics.
🏂 snow Ruyi National Ski Jumping Center
The course of ski jumping is s-shaped curve, which fits with the image of the traditional cultural symbol “Ruyi”, which means good luck and beauty.
Due to the steep mountain and low temperature, it has become the most technically difficult competition venue in the main competition area of Zhangjiakou. The position of the peak to constitute the “ruyi handle head” appearance can not be too small, but too large load-bearing problems, and then the peak position design into a hollow circle, load-bearing problem was easily solved. Snow Ruyi thus became the first ski jumping venue in the world to have a large cantilever structure on top of the starting area.
The INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee (IOC) has emphasized the concept of sustainable development in the Olympic Games since 2010. The construction of all venues for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games emphasizes the green principle of minimum ecological footprint, that is, maintaining a friendly relationship with the surrounding nature, leaving no traces that cannot be removed during the whole life cycle of everything, showing respect for nature and support for cultural and social development and local development.
Xue Ruyi was chosen to take full advantage of the natural terrain and is considered a “natural” ski jump site because it is located in a valley with a drop and shape that perfectly matches the competition requirements. The whole platform is supported in the valley, which is rarely done in international practice, because it makes engineering more difficult, but the advantage is to maintain the normal ecological cycle around the stadium.
It is mainly composed of the Summit club, the starting area, the slide area, the grandstand area, the top and the ground drop of more than 130 meters.
“Snow ruyi” is roughly divided into three parts: peak, middle and bottom. The summit is designed as a multifunctional space, equivalent to a club, that can be used for meetings, exhibitions, weddings and more after the game. At the bottom is a 90-meter stadium, which can be used for regular large-scale events with a seating capacity of up to 10,000 spectators. After the Winter Olympics, large-scale cultural and sports activities such as football matches and concerts can be held.
This symbolic design concept runs through almost every venue of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Inspired by the combination of ice and speed, the national Speed Skating Hall is shaped like an “ice ribbon”. The 22 ribbons spiral like the track left by an athlete’s skates as they enter at high speed.
“Snow Dragon” – National Snowmobile Sled Center. The course is made up of 16 curves of varying degrees and gradients, including a rare 360-degree turn that looks like a dragon soaring over a ridge, hence the name “Snow Dragon”.
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Dunhuang flying Apsaras ribbon
Shougang ski big jump
The design of shougang ski platform is inspired by the “flying sky” element in dunhuang fresco, which looks like a ribbon from a distance.
What are the symbols of Chinese cultural elements used to represent the dynamic curves behind the movements from help to take-off, tumbling and landing of the ski big jump?
Big Air, as it’s called in English, is the sport of maximum leap in the Air, and the Chinese leap in the Air. Eastern painting is different from traditional western painting. We do not express human bones, muscles and skin through anatomy, but express the dynamic traces of human body through the track of clothing. Therefore, the ribbon of Dunhuang Apsaras becomes the best carrier to express the dynamic curve of this sport.
Shougang ski jump center, looking south from the north bank
Shougang Ski Jump is not only the world’s first permanent Big Air ski jump, but also the world’s first permanent Olympic venue set up in an urban industrial site. Its profile structure not only meets the requirements of the big platform competition, but also can complete the transformation to the air skill venue within 48 hours by temporarily attaching the regular tetrahedron structure. Such transformation technology is also the first in the world.
“Big ski jumping contest and often in the mountains of freestyle skiing aerial skills competition, actually has the similarity, are first slip again jump, air again fall to the ground, but the two curve steep degree is different, the two games had never thought of in a place, but in the project of shougang has the opportunity of change.” Professor Zhang Li, dean of the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University, chief planner of Zhangjiakou Competition area of Beijing Winter Olympic Games, chief designer of Shougang Ski big jump, introduced this at the humanities Tsinghua forum.
Shougang ski jump platform at the same time led to the transformation of shougang old industrial zone, this transformation is for the next ten or even twenty years of the development of shougang old industrial zone. Every piece of ingenuity embodies the concept of sustainability, and some of the venues can be rented out as creative office space after the games.
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“Ice Water Chestnut Flower”
Wukesong Ice Sports Center
Wukesong Ice Center has been awarded China’s Three-star Green Building design mark, designed and built according to ultra-low energy standards, and is the largest ultra-low energy sports arena in China.
Wukesong Ice Sports Center is the ice hockey training center for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The ice flower design creates a poetic world of ice and snow.
Adjacent to Chang ‘an Avenue, the wukesong Cultural and Sports Center is located in the southeast corner of Beijing, and the basketball square on the west side forms a symmetrical layout around the Wukesong Basketball Arena.
Aerial view ©ZXD Architects
Winter Olympics Corridor light ©Zhang Zhepeng
Ice grate at west entrance ©Zhang Zhepeng
The facade constitutes the basic unit
Seen from a distance, the ice sports center looks like an ice and snow texture image formed by the aggregation of falling “ice flower”. The concrete symbols and abstract architectural structures interweave and overlap in the “opaque transparency of a mystery”, arousing people’s enthusiasm and expectation for the Winter Olympics and ice and snow sports.
During the Winter Olympics, it serves as the ice hockey competition training, warm-up venue; After the Games, the ice Sports Center will be one of the most important ice-themed sports buildings in Beijing, hoping to inspire the city’s citizens to participate in ice sports.
02
Chinese characters and seal cutting – carrier of Chinese civilization
Chinese characters are an important carrier of Chinese civilization. The winter Dream, the most representative emblem of the Winter Olympic Games, incorporates Chinese characters into its design.
The upper part of the “Winter dream” shows the shape of a skater, and the lower part means the heroic posture of a skier. In the middle, the dancing lines full of rhythm are connected to form the Chinese character “winter”.
The “BEIJING 2022” seal under the emblem is based on the characteristics of Chinese paper cutting to achieve overall unity with the emblem. The artistic form of Chinese calligraphy integrates the profound Oriental culture with the international modern style, full of harmonious beauty.
Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games official poster
Chinese paper-cut posters of “Bing Dwen Dwen” and “Xue Rong Rong”
Do you still remember the emblem of the 2008 Olympic Games, “Chinese seal, Dancing Beijing”? Seal cutting is a unique art form of Chinese characters, as well as a unique mark of Chinese people’s ancient cultural context and emotional sustenance.
The sports ICONS for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics have once again used the seal cutting art form, echoing the design concept of “Chinese seal”.
24 sports ICONS for the Beijing Winter Olympics
And 6 sports ICONS for the Beijing Winter Paralympics
The difference is that this time, the icon is more “Hanyin” style. The 30 “little red men” dance between the square inches of the Chinese seal. The calligraphic strokes of the figures and the traditional Chinese ink clay color “Xiagang red” show the most characteristic and beautiful moments of winter sports.
03
The ubiquitous elements of traditional culture
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics medal has been named “Tongxin”, which means “together for the future”.
On the front of the medal, the five Olympic rings are engraved in the center, and the full English name of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is engraved around the center. The ring is made of depression processing, meaning the traditional string jade, above the shallow decorative patterns, are from the traditional Chinese patterns, among which the ice and snow patterns show the characteristics of the Winter Olympics, auspicious cloud patterns convey the meaning of good luck. On the back of the medal circle engraved with 24 points and movement arc, take the ancient astronomical map, a symbol of the vast expanse of the starry sky, harmony between man and nature, but also a symbol of the 24th Winter Olympic Games athletes like stars, create wonderful.
From “gold with jade” in 2008 to “concentric circles” in 2022, what remains unchanged is the “Double Olympic City” Beijing’s interpretation and innovative expression of the Olympic spirit of “Higher, Faster, Stronger — More United”.
The torch for the 2022 Winter Olympics has flown in the sky, a towering homage to the torch for the 2008 Games.
The design inspiration of “Flying” is inspired by the leaves in nature, and follows the eastern philosophy of “Taoism of nature”. The red and silver appearance symbolizes the fusion of ice and fire, implying that the torch illuminates the ice and snow world with warmth and light.
In keeping with the Olympic spirit of friendship and unity, the two torches meet at the ends of a perfect union, like the hands of different peoples.
The design inspiration of the flame lamp for the Winter Olympics comes from the Changxin Palace lamp of the Western Han Dynasty, the first lamp in China.
Unearthed in Hebei Province, one of the Olympic venues, the Changxin palace lantern was made more than 2,000 years ago in the Western Han Dynasty. “Long letter”, eternal faith, represents people’s pursuit and yearning for light and hope.
Not only is it light and gorgeous, but the design is amazing. The bronze statue of the palace maid is hollow inside the body, and the dust generated by the combustion can be deposited through the palace maid’s right arm instead of being dispersed to the surrounding environment in large quantities. The wisdom of the ancients and the concept of environmental protection can be seen.
The design concept of the ceremonial fire table for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games is “bearing heaven and bearing objects”. The creative inspiration also comes from the precious ancient cultural relic — traditional bronze ritual vessel: Zun.
The countdown To the Beijing Winter Olympic Games has entered an important node from ** Wanning Bridge ****(20 Days To Go) To drum Tower and bell Tower ****(10 Days To Go)**.
In 2018, 14 sites (Yongding Gate, Xiannong Altar, Temple of Heaven, Zhengyang Gate and Archery Tower, Chairman MAO Memorial Hall, Monument to the People’s Heroes, Tian ‘anmen Square, Tian ‘anmen, Sheji Altar, Taimiao, Forbidden City, Jingshan Mountain, Wanning Bridge, Drum Tower and Bell Tower) were identified as heritage sites.
“Beijing central axis” Beijing Olympics commemorative badges, in winter Olympic Games countdown time line, from the south to the north of 14 representative building and hosting the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympics venues national stadium (bird’s nest) as the Olympic countdown 15 major time node, from two dimensions of space and time to reflect Beijing Olympic footsteps approaching.
The traditional culture is integrated into the design, from the Olympic MEDALS, Olympic flame lamps to venues, posters and a series of winter Olympic-related design, you can feel this Kind of Romance of Chinese style.
In addition to the official posters designed by the Organizing Committee for the Winter Olympic Games, there are 11 sets of posters selected through online and offline selection. Here are some selected posters:
Posters of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics
JOIN US JOIN IN by Sun Yafei
Title: Our Olympic Games by Yan Dong
Title: This Year, in Beijing by Li Xiaomin and Zhang Rong
The resources
[1] Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games poster exhibition ︱ BoCOG official website
[2] Beijing 2022 Logo, Design & Look of the Games︱International Olympic Committee
[3] Do you know these “Chinese elements” design of Beijing Winter Olympics? ︱ Art and Design ︱ ArtDesign_org_cn
[4] Puxiang Industrial Design Station (ID: IAMDesign)
[5] Dancing in the snow and ice “Chinese romance”, the design of the Beijing Winter Olympics is too beautiful! ︱ Xinmin Evening News
[6] Architects help winter Olympics: “Ice Flower” skin, beautiful! ︱ ZXD Architects