TheWaterCube(水立方) 　　Itlooksblue,butit'sgreen,andit'shere.Asbig,eye-catchingOlympicsarchitecturegoes,nothingmaybeassustainableastheBeijingNationalAquaticsCenter,orWaterCube,thelatestcutting-edgebuildingtoopenontheenormousconstructionsitethatisChina.Takingthestructureofsoapbubblesasinspiration(andmimickingnature'swayoffilling3-dspacemostefficiently),PTWArchitectsandArupgavethe$200millionCubeanelegant,light-weightdesign:arectangularboxcoverediniridescentbubblewrap. 　　Butitdoesmorethanlookcool.The100,000squaremetersoftheTeflon-liketranslucentplasticETFEthatmakeupthebuilding'sbubblecladdingallowinmoresolarheatthanglass,makingiteasiertoheatthebuilding,andresultingina30percentreductioninenergycosts.That'sespeciallyimportantforaswimmingpool,whichrequiresanenormousamountofheating.(Thoughthebuilding'sETFEwasmanufacturedabroad,meaningmorepollutioninconstructionthanwouldtherehavebeenwithlocallyavailablematerials,designersemphasizethattheenergysavingsaresubstantial,equivalenttocoveringtheroofinsolarpanels.) 　　Air-tight,thefuturisticLED-litbubblesnotonlyactasadjustableinsulators,turningthebuildingintoagreenhouse,butalsoserveasstorehousesforwarmairthatcanbepumpedintotheCubeasneeded.Thoughit'sonly.008ofaninchthick,ETFE,whichhasbeenusedtoalesserextentintheUK'sEdenProjectandGermany'sAllianzArenacanholdupto300timesitsweight.Withouttrussing,itcanspangreaterdistancesthanglass,andcostsupto70percentlesstoinstall.Thoughcriticssayitwillneedfrequentscrubbing(Beijing'sgrithadclearlyleftitsmarkonthebuildingtoday),thematerialisbilledasmoreself-cleaningthanglass,andcanberecycled. 　　ButtheCube'sfacadeprobablywon'tneedtoberecycledanytimesoon.Unlikethesimilarlystunning,steel-encumberedNationalStadiumnearby,whichsomefearcouldgofroma"Bird'sNest"(itsnickname)toa"whiteelephant"oncetheGamesaredone,theWaterCubeissetforalengthy,sustainableafterlife(itsconstructionhasn'tkilledanybodyeither,atleastofficially)."Whatitisforthenext30yearsismorecrucialthanwhatitisduringtheOlympics,"PTW'sJohnPauline,oneofthebuilding'sleadarchitects,tellsTreehugger. 　　"It'sverycommoninOlympicplanningtofocusonthenowratherthanthefuture.Moreimportantiswhathappensinthenextphase[oftheWaterCube'slife],"whichwillseethebuildingconvertedintoarecreationcenterfornearbyresidents."WededicatedonlyathirdoftheWaterCubetotheswimmingpool.WhenvisitorscomeaftertheOlympics,they'llbeabletoplayagameoftennis,goonthewaterslide,andsoon."Upstairs,theCubefeaturesacafe.