Our writeup about the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, written almost a year ago, continues to be one of the most popular articles we’ve written. This comes as no surprise, given that it follows the recent trend of architecturally stunning swimming facilities for major international competitions. It also demonstrates how much excitement and anticipation there is surrounding the upcoming 2011 World Championships, even though it is still over 7 months away.
Click here to read all about the SOSC, which will host the 2011 Long Course World Championships.
The official English-language blog of Rhino 3D, the makers of the software that was used to design the facility, have released recent pictures of the near-completed facility, seen above. Visually, the stadium looks even more impressive than the original renderings, and it is definitely aesthetically impressive. The most noticeable work left to be done–landscaping and final grooming of the lot that the facility sits on–will only increase the awesomeness. Unfortunately, there aren’t any pictures of the lake that the facility will butt up against, but my expectation is that this water-on-water architecture will create a really intriguing visual effect for the eyes.