5 Stunning Feats of Architecture in Beijing

Beijing’s Yi He Yuan, or the Summer Palace, is a complex of lakes, gardens, palaces, and pavilions in Beijing. It was commissioned by Emperor Qianlong in 1750 and developed into the imperial summer residence. The palace was attacked by British and French forces during the Opium War in 1860 and razed to the ground, but rebuilt. The Dowager Empress Cixi lived here from 1889 until her death and is said to have funded the restoration and expansion of the Summer Palace with money diverted from funds for the Chinese navy.

In 1924 the palace was declared a public park. Notable structures in the park include the Yiledian with a three-story theater; the Leshontang, the Dowager Empress Cixi’s residence; and the Shiqi Kong Qiao, an elaborate 17-arch bridge. The historical features are only matched by the views of the surrounding landscape. The natural hills and lake combine with artificial features such as the pavilions, halls, palaces, temples, and bridges to create a harmonious atmosphere of great charm. The design epitomizes the philosophy and practice of Chinese garden design, reflecting the profound aesthetic of this internationally influential Chinese cultural form. (Aidan Turner-Bishop)

Located on the west edge of Tiananmen Square, the Great Hall of the People was one of ten urban projects to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, in 1959. It is the leading venue for Communist Party meetings, events, and conferences.

Topped by a green- and yellow-glazed tile roof, the complex consists of a central block with a series of bronze doors, a colonnaded portico at the front, and extensive wings. Above the main doors is a red shield, the emblem of the People’s Republic of China. Visitors are admitted to the building, which contains more than 300 conference halls, assembly rooms, lounge areas, and offices, via the East Gate. Government speeches are given here and representatives of China’s governing body hold their annual meetings in the central auditorium, capable of seating up to 10,000 officials.

The auditorium‘s ceiling is decorated by a massive red star surrounded by a galaxy of lights. Several reception halls, each named after a Chinese province, are decorated in a style particular to each region. The state banqueting hall can house 5,000 guests. During the ascendancy of Communism and the frenetic construction program of the 1950s, the government swept away ancient aesthetics in favor of Soviet models. Beijing became a paradigm for socialist realism through grand-scale constructions advocating national form and socialist content. (Anna Amari-Parker)

A project of this type, scale, and audacity would not have been permitted in the historic core of any city other than in China. The National Grand Theater, by architect Paul Andreu, is a superlative example of iconic architecture of its time and place. A short distance from the Forbidden City and the adjacent Tiananmen Square—the heart and soul of Beijing—this structure courts controversy. Beloved by some for its bold design and radical approach to serving the arts, and despised by many for its huge budget and arguably inapt location, China’s National Theater immediately became a divisive building. While many Western architects in China enjoy a relatively free rein at the behest of their clients, China’s ancient urban centers are being transformed irrevocably, sparking cultural debates that will doubtless last for decades.

The globular glass and titanium shell houses three separate venues in what the architect describes as a “city of theaters”: a 2,461-seat opera house, a 2,017-seat concert hall, a 1,040-seat theater, and numerous exhibition spaces, restaurants, and shopping areas. In the evening, these inner structures and spaces are revealed to the outside world through the glass exterior wall. From outside, the curved form, which is peeled back in the center to evoke an opening stage curtain, appears to float in an artificial lake that completely surrounds the structure. Access to the building, which was completed in 2007, is achieved via underground walkways. (Edward Denison)

The China Central Television (CCTV) Headquarters building in Beijing’s Central Business District has polarized public opinion. Critical monikers range from “a naked woman on her hands and knees” to “the underpants building” to “twisted and hollow.” But maybe Western critics have misunderstood: some say the building is a covert political statement critical of state monopoly of the media.

Raised on a concrete plinth, the CCTV Building avoids street-level engagement. At 755 feet (230 m) tall, perspective distortion of the 50-story legs and bridge top skews views. Its interior volumes and circulation patterns are geared for hierarchy. Rational human scale is pummeled. The structural system, an irregular network of steel cross-bracing, looks as if it were etched into the building’s skin, and it becomes denser where stress points are most severe.

Neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene and philosopher Lieven De Cauter said a “post-civil society” is one that “embraces its own brutality.” The CCTV Building may be evidence of a post-civil society, but whether it is brutal or better architecture is both the question and the reason this is a must-see building. (Denna Jones)

Rising from the flat plain of north Beijing, the extraordinary shape of the National Stadium has transformed the appearance of the city, giving a landmark to the far reaches of the famous north-south axis that runs through the center of the Forbidden City. The stadium is set on a gently sloped plinth, giving the impression that the building is a natural event emerging from the soil. With its mass of huge steel columns and struts, conceived as continuous limbs that rise from the ground and curve over the shoulder of the stadium before intermeshing into the enormous roof, the building displays an architectural intelligence rarely rivaled elsewhere in the world.

Known as the “Bird’s Nest,” the stadium, opened in 2008, achieves the considerable distinction of retaining its essentially sculptural quality despite its vast scale and its fulfillment of a host of complex technical requirements. The stadium’s most noticeable feature is the absence of a strict outer facade or curtain wall. Instead, a forest of columns produces a set of transitory spaces, neither exterior nor interior, that break down the monolithic mass of the building while emphasizing its tectonic qualities. The steel elements, while massive, hint at menacing movement. The area around the stadium has been designed to flow from it, with underground levels for access, media, and retail set beneath an urban park.

Inside, the concrete bowl of the stadium provides seating for up to 91,000 spectators. Color is used sparingly—the steel is painted silver, the outer side of the concrete bowl and the stadium seating a dazzling red, and interior elements a matt black. This is not only a remarkable stadium but also a sourcebook of ideas for the new power of the 21st century. (Mark Irving)