A preview of the Olympic Village

On March 5 at 1:30 PM Mr. Yu Debin, Vice Director of the Olympic Village Department and Ms. Liu Rong from Guoao Investment Company, the builder of the Olympic Village, briefed the world media on the construction, planning and operation of The Olympic Village at the Beijing Olympic Center. Full Coverage  In Pictures  Back to Live Cast

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活动标题

  • A preview of the Olympic Village

活动描述

  • On March 5 at 1:30 p.m. Mr. Yu Debin, Vice Director of the Olympic Village Department and Ms. Liu Rong from Guoao Investment Company, the builder of the Olympic Village, briefed the world media on the construction, planning and operation of The Olympic Village at the Beijing Olympic Centre.

文字内容:

  • Madame Wang Hui:

    Good afternoon, media friends. You are all welcome to participate in today's open press conference hosted here at the Beijing Olympic Media Center. Today, we have many journalists here, which is indicative that you are very interested in the content of this briefing. As you all know, today's press conference will be in two stages: first, we'll present an overview of the construction status of the Beijing Olympic Village, also the Paralympic Village. Then we'll take you to visit the grounds at the Olympic Village.

    Today, we have the honor of inviting Mr. Yu Debin, Deputy Director of Olympic Village Department, and also Ms. Liu Rong from the Guoao Investment Company, the construction company for the Olympic Village, to today's press conference.

    Now Mr. Yu Debin will brief us on the operational plans of the Olympic Village during the 2008 Games.

    2008-03-05 13:37:57

  • Yu Debin:

    Ladies and gentlemen, I'll now introduce how the Olympic Village and Paralympic Village are organized regarding the Games.

    My introduction includes six parts:

    First, let's review the instructions guiding the operation of the Olympic Village and Paralympic Village: the International Olympic Committee (IOC) put Article 39 of the new Olympic Charter into practice on September 1, 2004. It stipulates that with the objective of bringing together all competitors, team officials and other team personnel in one place, the BOCOG shall provide an Olympic Village for a period of time determined by the IOC Executive Board. The IOC's instructions also include the Service Guide for Foreign Media Coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games and the Preparatory Period and technical manuals on Olympic Village, Paralympic Games, media operations and accommodation.

    2008-03-05 13:40:12

  • Yu Debin:

    Second, the tasks and purposes of Olympic Village's operation team. The overall mission of the Olympic Village's operation team is to offer adequate reception services and make the Olympic Village a safe, harmonious, comfortable and convenient home for all the athletes, officials and other local residents. This will be accomplished by following the directives of the central government, the guiding principles of the 17th National Congress of the CPC and the leadership of Beijing Municipal Government and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

    2008-03-05 13:45:44

  • Yu Debin:

    The team's general purpose is to make the upcoming Olympic Games a high-level event with distinctive characteristics. The team, guided by the principles of scientific development, has adopted the concepts of "green, technology-based and people-oriented Olympics". They will put great emphasis on all the necessary details as well as provide an emergency response system in order to competently operate the preparations for the Olympic Village and the Paralympic Village as well as skillfully run the two villages during these events.

    2008-03-05 13:46:13

  • Yu Debin:

    Third, the overall planning of Olympic Village and Paralympic Village. The Olympic Village for the XXIX Olympiad includes the Beijing athletes' village, green homes and member apartments for the media village as well as offices for temporary officials, the Qingdao athletes' village and offices for affiliated temporary officials and the Hong Kong athletes' village, Groom Village.

    2008-03-05 13:46:42

  • Yu Debin:

    The Olympic village will be transformed into the Paralympic Village and subsequently assume reception tasks for the Paralympic delegations. The Olympic village will serve as temporary residential homes for 16,000 athletes and attendant officials as well as serve as the headquarters for the IOC delegations and as a meeting venue for the heads of various delegations. In addition, it is also the primary site for welcoming ceremonies for delegations and other kinds of cultural activities.

    The area provides security, transportation, catering, environmental activities, visitor reception, religious services, medical services and Chinese culture displays. The Olympic village is the largest non-competitive venue designed for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. The Beijing Olympic Village, as a key component of the Olympic Park, is located in the northern end of Beijing's north-south axis. Covering 660,000 square meters, it borders the Olympic Forest Park to the north and several major Olympic venues to the south, such as the National Stadium and the "Water Cube."

    2008-03-05 13:49:03

  • Yu Debin:

    Beijing Kehui Road bisects the Beijing Olympic Village into two parts, with some 27 hectares in the south and about 39 hectares in the north. Its east-west width is approximately 900 meters. The parking lot in the south, serving the athletes, has a north-south length of 800 meters. The athletes' apartments together with other supporting facilities, including the flag-raising square in the north and the Peace Plaza and Truce Wall, are meant to serve as permanent architecture.

    The remaining structures are meant for short-term use only. After the 2008 Paralympic Games, the Olympic Village will be renovated and transformed. The area north of Kehui Road will merge into the Forest Park. The flag-raising square will remain as part of the cultural heritage of the XXIX Olympiad permanently and it will be open to the public. The apartments in the south will serve as a high-grade residential area after the Olympic Games.

    2008-03-05 13:51:25

  • Yu Debin:

    Deliveries are scheduled to house buyers by the end of 2009.

    The Beijing Olympic Media Village has two distinct sections, namely green homes and member apartments. The two media villages will receive 7,000 registered media personnel, mainly broadcasters, Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Corporation and various members of the press. The green homes media village is six km from the main press center of the International Broadcast Center, with a driving time of only 5-10 minutes. The member apartments media Village is 500 meters from the National Indoor Stadium and 100 meters from the main press center of the International Broadcast Center, with a driving time of only two minutes.

    2008-03-05 13:53:12

  • Yu Debin:

    Fourth, concerning the operating times of the Olympic Village -- later it will be transformed into the Paralympic Village. We are setting July 20 to 26 the pre-opening phase for the Olympic Village.

    The village will be officially opened on July 27, 2008 and officially closed August 27. August 28-30 will be pre-opening time for the Paralympic Village, then on August 30, the Paralympic Village will officially open. It will formally close on September 20.

    The period of transition from Olympics to Paralympics will be 26 hours.

    2008-03-05 13:55:45

  • Yu Debin:

    Fifth, concerning the organization structure of teams of Olympic Village and Paralympic Village: in principle the villages will be operated separately under a unified leadership. This is the basic model for the Olympic Village and the Paralympic Village. Under the team director' unified leadership, two media villages and two other division villages located outside Beijing will realize independent operations while the Olympic Games are held. Our goal is to flatten the management and cut levels of directing and reporting lines.

    2008-03-05 13:57:14

  • Yu Debin:

    As many service and security program resources are in the hands of government departments, so the government administrative staff will directly merge into the operational teams of the Olympic Village and the Paralympic Village to ensure that everything runs smoothly for the Games. At the same time, many internal projects of the Olympic Village and the Paralympic Village, such as hotel-esque accommodation services, massive servings of Western food and buffets, collectively directing and arranging various types of vehicles and special operations for religious services, all require specialized teams and managers to merge with the teams.

    My final point concerns the programs that will be operated in the Village during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. When the Olympics and the Paralympics are held, the village will launch nine large programs and 59 small projects, among which, the Paralympic will have three special projects. Some 23 departments of the BOCOG and lots of other departments outside BOCOG will be involved.

    2008-03-05 13:59:37

  • Yu Debin:

    The nine programs are: accommodations, meals, traffic, security, public relations, cultural events, general press services, logistics and general operations. According to the tasks of the Olympic Village and the principle of division of labor of BOCOG, 32 projects will be operating in the village during the Games, among which, 9 in the Olympic Village and 23 in outside areas.

    My introduction is over. I thank all my friends from the press.

    2008-03-05 14:03:06

  • Wang Hui:

    Thank Mr. Yu Debin. Now Ms. Liu Rong from Guoao Investment Company, will introduce the construction of the Olympic Village.

    2008-03-05 14:05:40

  • Liu Rong:

    Good afternoon, media friends. I'd like to take the opportunity to make a brief introduction on the process of designing, planning and constructing the Olympic Village on behalf of the village builder.

    I have prepared a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate my talk.

    My introduction will be divided into three parts; in the first part I'll give you a profile of the Olympic Village; the second part concerns the construction of the Olympic Village; and the in the third part I'd like to say something about the application of three Olympic concepts.

    2008-03-05 14:07:45

  • Liu Rong:

    The Olympic Village lies in the northwest corner of the Beijing Olympic Green, with the Olympic competition venues to its south and the Forest Park to its north. With an area of 66 hectares, the Village includes the Apartment Buildings for athletes in the south and the overlay area in the north. During the Olympic Games, It can accommodate more than 16,000 athletes and officials (7,000 athletes and officials during the Paralympic Games) and provide services related to accommodation, living, training, leisure and entertainment.

    The Residential Zone has an area of 27.55 hectares and a floor area of 524,000 square meters. They include 20, nine-story buildings; 22, six-story buildings; three Super Resident Centers and nine Resident Centers and facilities, such as the Polyclinic and the Casual Dining Hall. The overlay area in the north of the village will provide services including arrival, accreditation, leisure, catering, fitness and departure for athletes coming to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

    2008-03-05 14:09:18

  • Liu Rong:

    There also will be the Welcome Ceremony Stage, the Village Mayor Office, Dining Hall, shopping centre, logistics centre and accreditation centre.

    Now I'll turn to the construction elements. Currently, all the engineering work concerning the outer façade and indoor fine decoration has been largely completed. The pipes to supply water for daily life, potable water, reclaimed water for flushing toilets, hot water for shower, and water for fire fighting have been installed. Sewers have been installed. The power supply and telecom facilities within the Village have been installed and the full loading operation has been carried out. The construction of the intelligent systems has entered its final stages.

    2008-03-05 14:13:42

  • Liu Rong:

    The first phase commissioning of air conditioning was completed in September 2007. The heating for winter is underway. The engineering for road surface course, outdoor lighting, green space and water system, enclosure and gate is close to completion.

    From these photos we can see that major buildings and outdoor engineering have been completed; the public space, such as staircases and elevator halls, has been fitted up the engineering for road surface course is close to the end; the indoor fine decoration has been finished; water supply and drainage system and sanitary items have been installed. Elevations have been installed and the air conditioning system with water reclamation heat pumps has been put into operation.

    2008-03-05 14:16:30

  • Liu Rong:

    Before lockdown, the full loading test is scheduled to be carried out according to the actual need during the Games-time. During the test, shower water, potable water, tap water, drainage, outdoor and indoor lighting, elevator, intelligentization and other systems will be tested; the water reclamation heat pump system will be put into operation for cooling (with automatic control); the BOCOG operation team will move in and FF&E and other facilities will be loaded.

    2008-03-05 14:18:07

  • Liu Rong:

    Now I'd like to brief you on the application of the three concepts of the Olympic Games in our designing of the Village. It mainly involves four aspects: utilization of renewable energy, energy-saving buildings, environmental protection and human oriented design. The following green technologies have been applied:

    • renewable energy

    • water reclamation

    • utilization of rain and flood

    • green building materials

    • energy-saving building

    • green indoor environment

    • ecological landscape

    • intelligent house

    • DTV, and green lighting, and

    • accessible facilities

    2008-03-05 14:21:49

  • Liu Rong:

    The harmony between culture, architecture and environment has been achieved in the green residential area. The village, with its world leading technologies, is a showcase to the world of the distinguishing characteristics of the high level Olympic Games. The whole process of the construction illustrates the "three concepts". For example, at the construction sites, solar energy was adopted for lighting... and water sprayed to remove dust.

    2008-03-05 14:23:42

  • Liu Rong:

    Utilization of renewable energy. During Games-times, 7,890,000 kilowatt hours will be obtained from solar energy and reclaimed water for services. After the Olympic Games, 67 million kilowatt hours will be obtained from solar energy and reclaimed water. This is the first reclaimed water heat pump air conditioning system. It draws energy through heat exchange from the reclaimed water from the Qinghe Wastewater Treatment Plant. The energy drawn from the reclaimed water can be enhanced by the heat pumps for heating and cooling. The system consumes electricity 40% less than the ordinary air conditioners. Thanks to the world leading wastewater utilization system, cooling towers or outdoor machines are not needed, no noise or smoke will be generated and the heat island effect can be removed completely.

    2008-03-05 14:25:26

  • Liu Rong:

    Now let's watch a short flash animation to learn its work process. The wastewater treatment plant; the reclaimed water goes through heat exchange here and then enter the Olympic Village through pipes for heating in winter and cooling in summer.

    Integrated solar energy water heating system. The solar energy heating pipes are installed horizontally in the gardens on the roofs, constituting part of the pergola and thus integrated into the garden. 6,000 square meters solar energy water heating system can provide bathing hot water for more than 16,000 athletes and officials. After the Olympic Games, it can provide hot water for nearly 2,000 households nearby.

    2008-03-05 14:28:55

  • Liu Rong:

    The solar energy water heating system can save five million kilowatt hours electric power per year.

    All the solar collectors have been installed in the Village.

    More than 20 cutting edge technologies, such as solar heat collection, solar water heating, solar dehumidification, cogeneration of heat and power by solar energy and intellectual control have been applied in the micro energy consumption buildings. For 2,000 square meters of the micro energy consumption buildings, each square meter will consume 36 kilowatt hours annually, which is 1/3rd of the consumption of the existing energy saving buildings. Some 147,000 kilowatt hours of energy can be saved annually.

    2008-03-05 14:31:38

  • Liu Rong:

    The building will be Super Resident Center during the Games time.

    In addition, energy-savings were also taken into account at the Village design. For example, thickened XPS extruded sheets have been used for walls and building surfaces. It can save energy while preserving heat. The heat insulation can make the buildings cool in summer and warm in winter. The double-glazing LOW-E glass with inert gases fill framed by aluminum has been used. The glass features thermal insulation and noise prevention. Energy-saving Persian blinds have been installed in all buildings. The heat transfer coefficient of the sealed insulating glass adopted for the Persian blinds is lower than ordinary ones. Therefore, it can save energy significantly.

    2008-03-05 14:36:05

  • Liu Rong:

    Biological sewage treatment technology is adopted in the Olympic Village to treat part of domestic waste water and also to provide water for landscape. Simulating the self-purification capacity of water, a water body biological balance system applying food chains of animals and plants is set up to treat the domestic water.

    In this way 200 tons of water can be provided to water the landscape.

    Rain water can be collected and reused every year to water the green space and clean the road.

    2008-03-05 14:39:40

  • Liu Rong:

    In order to ensure a good indoor environment, construction materials and decoration materials have been tested and undergone pre-control process during the construction.

    The Village also reflects human oriented design. Accessible ramps and blind sidewalks are set. And the entrance and exit of apartments are level with the outside roads. Accessible facility has been installed at public space and indoors. Moreover, the Village has adopted High standard potable water system.

    Last year UNEP paid a visit to Beijing for Olympic preparation. I'd like to end my introduction with an excerpt from the "Beijing 2008 Olympic Games - An Environmental Review by UNEP".

    2008-03-05 14:42:06

  • Liu Rong:

    "The venue features innovative technologies, such as a heat pump system, photovoltaic panels, beam-pipe illumination, solar collectors, water saving devices, and rainwater collection. The designers have succeeding in designing a people-oriented, healthy, comfortable and energy-saving environment in the Village".

    2008-03-05 14:44:01

  • Wang Hui:

    Thanks for Ms. Liu's detailed introduction. A little later we will show you around the Olympic Village. Now is the time to ask questions. We can only answer three questions here since the time is limited.

    2008-03-05 14:46:53

  • International reporter:

    I want to ask Mr. Yu about the security of the Olympic Village. Whether an athlete has easy access getting from one residential area to another or whether he will be required to undergo an internal security check?

    2008-03-05 14:49:10

  • Yu Debin:

    In principle, athletes living in the village have free access. Security checks aren't necessary because all the required security checks will have been done before the athletes move into the village.

    2008-03-05 14:51:35

  • International reporter:

    Can you make any exceptions?

    2008-03-05 14:53:34

  • Yu Debin:

    There are no exceptions.

    2008-03-05 14:54:29

  • Reuters:

    I have two questions. First, how much is the total investment on the Olympic Village? Second, will the famous sports stars enjoy any privileges, regarding the security check or anything else?

    2008-03-05 14:56:02

  • Yu Debin:

    All the athletes will enjoy the same services.

    2008-03-05 14:57:29

  • Liu Rong:

    The settlement of the project has not been finished yet, so I cannot give you a precise figure.

    2008-03-05 14:58:54

  • The Travel Channel:

    I'm honored to attend this press conference. I noticed that Premier Wen Jiabao also mentioned the Beijing Olympic Games this morning in his government work report to the National People's Congress.

    Humanism is the most noticeable characteristic that distinguishes the Beijing Olympic Games from previous ones. My question is how this feature will be embodied in the Olympic Village and during the Games.

    2008-03-05 15:01:45

  • Yu Debin:

    I'm happy to answer your question. To embody the concept of Green, Technology-geared and People's Olympics, we organized one sentence during the pre-phase of the preparation process: "The Technology-geared Olympics begins from the organization, the Green Olympics from the environment and the People's Olympics from our service."

    Just now, I said that we would make the athletes feel at home, so lots of entertainment and literary performs have been arranged for them. Meanwhile, according to the previous Olympic experiences, we also prepared a great deal of entertainment equipment, namely, internet bars, volleyball and tennis courts, and also we've included recreational spots, and places to play table tennis and Sha Arc ball. As for services, our semi-self-help laundering services are strengthened.

    2008-03-05 15:05:50

  • Yu Debin:

    For each winning athlete we would like to send congratulatory cards. On journalists' birthdays, we will also send birthday cards to them. To improve contact with the delegates, we are requesting the principals and general managers of each storied building to enhance their own contact with each delegate and deliver contact cards. Our aim is to improve work efficiency and service at the supervisory level.

    2008-03-05 15:07:05

  • Wang Hui:

    Thank you everyone! The spokespersons will go to the Olympic Village with you together and answer your questions there.

    2008-03-05 15:08:46

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