In Beijing a building like no other has emerged. It is a bold experiment in architecture and a cutting-edge vision of construction engineering. When Beijing hosts the 2008 Olympics the eyes of the world will be riveted on this building.

Its official name is the National Swimming Centre but in the world of mega-architecture it is reverently known as the Water Cube. It’s a brilliant fantasia of steel and plastic – a honeycomb of fifty six miles (ninety kilometers) of steel framework, supporting pillows of high tech plastic inflated onto shimmering translucent bubbles.

We go behind the scenes to learn more about the vision behind a building destined to become one this century’s leading architectural feats.