Slice of logic behind a regular structure ensures a random appearance

If the builders of the National Aquatics Centre had embarked on the project five or six years ago they would have faced a daunting task.

Michael Kwok says computers and in-house software played an integral part in generating the complex three-dimensional models of the 'Water Cube' and in optimising its design.

'It would have been very difficult five or six years ago because we didn't have all these powerful tools,' Kwok said. 'The biggest force acting on the structure is its own weight, so optimising it is very important.'

The building's outwardly organic design is deceptively simple - it relies on a regular molecular-style structure to create the appearance of randomly generated bubbles. Almost all of the struts and joints used to form the walls and roof are the same size and at the same angle. But you would never guess so looking straight on.

That's because the team came up with the design by imagining a giant block of interlocking cells and cutting a slice through the block at an angle to form the building's shape. If a slice had been cut squarely, the building would appear to be a regular honeycomb.

'Using a regular structure, we created something irregular,' Kwok said. 'It doesn't seem to have a logic, but behind it there is a regular structure. We know it's stable.'