The Olympic summer games in the Chinese capital will unfold in a sports stadium, conceived by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, with a capacity of 100,000. This means that, together with Mario Botta (a contemporary art museum) and Heinz Moser and Roger Nussbaumer, from the Zurich firm of Burckhardt and Partner (a further sports complex for the Olympic games), three Swiss architectural firms will be responsible for the design and realisation of some highly prestigious buildings in Beijing.ETH Life interviewed ETH Vice-president Gerhard Schmitt who, as Professor of Architecture and Computer Aided Architectural Design, has deeper insights into the matter.

Professor Schmitt, what is the reason for the current success of Swiss architects in Asia?

The answer to that is relatively simple: Quality–for decades the goal of Swiss architecture. A quality that is based on creativity and careful attention to history, context, resources and technology. These considerations produce sustainability, capability of abstraction, and, ultimately, an impeccable reputation. Swiss architecture was always more attractive because it succeeds in combining traditional values and progress, while maintaining visible tension and excitement.

What, in your view, will the decision to let Herzog and de Meuron build the Olympic stadium in Beijing mean to the Swiss architectural scene?

The decision is important for Switzerland's architectural scene because it shows that quality and success can be united. It also proves that Switzerland is capable of developing and diffusing new architectural styles, in addition to that of the Tessiner School.

Like a bird's nest: the filigree, designed by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron for the Olympic Summer Games 2008 in Beijing. large

The success of this tender also confirms the ETH in its consistent practice. After winning the Pritzker Prize - the architectural equivalent of a Noble prize - Herzog and de Meuron, this success represents an unbroken creative force, which also benefits ETH students.

And what will the decision mean to ETH?

It sends a clear message to our more than 1,300 students of architecture: an ETH education makes it worthwhile to be courageous and enter extremely competitive international competitions. Herzog / de Meuron are establishing themselves - amongst other things - as specialists for stadium building.

What are the most important challenges when it comes to the architecture of stadiums?

Design that focuses on research, logistics, statics, flexibility and emotions. Bear in mind that a stadium of this size must be able to absorb many times the total number of ETH students and staff within minutes. And that something must be constructed encompassing a huge open space, with little material, that must guarantee protection and security, whether from wind, weather or earthquake, while at the same time giving visitors a feeling of lightness, pride and the sense of association that a sports stadium must transmit. Are there more worthy challenges? This is why students often choose this subject matter for their diploma theses.