Guest of this issue: Li Jiulin
Chief Engineer of Beijing Urban Construction Group
Chief Engineer of the National Stadium (Bird's Nest).
Chief Engineer of the National Speed Skating Hall (Ice Ribbon).
In his nearly 30-year career, Li Jiulin, a civil engineer, has presided over the construction of major projects such as the "Double Olympics" series of venues, many international airport terminals, and Asia's largest fully underground enclosed reclaimed water plant. Adhering to the spirit of ingenuity to overcome a number of "card neck" technical problems, practicing the green concept, giving the building a strong vitality, so that China Construction has stepped onto a new level on the road of green and sustainable development, leading China Construction to China's intelligent manufacturing.
Gao Zhengkun / From Beijing
"Thanks for this great era!" This is the sentence that appears most frequently in Li Jiulin's mouth.
Li Jiulin is the chief engineer of Beijing Urban Construction Group, and the chief engineer of the National Stadium (Bird's Nest) and the National Speed Skating Hall (Ice Ribbon), the former is the main stadium of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, known as "a miracle in the history of world architecture", and the latter is the iconic venue of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the high point of China's wisdom construction.
From the "Bird's Nest" to the "Ice Ribbon", Li Jiulin led the team to overcome difficulties, strive for excellence, and constantly surpass, write the legend of "Double Olympics" with ingenuity, provide Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for the construction of Olympic venues, and promote China's construction to the world stage.
Spanning a long relay spanning 15 years, Li Jiulin left his youth on the construction site of the Olympic stadium, full of green silk and white hair. He said bluntly: "I am a civil engineer, not a scientist, I can't focus on a certain field, all I have to do is to solve the real problems in the construction of the project." ”
He also said that the joy brought by each step forward is different. Because he loves the process of solving problems, and because of his responsibility and mission, he feels that the sense of accomplishment he gets when solving problems is irreplaceable.
The opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the National Stadium is still fresh in people's minds, and now the "City of The Two Olympics" Beijing has once again entered the Olympic time, and on February 4, 2022, the 24th Winter Olympic Games will open in Beijing, and 22 crystal clear, flexible and flowing "ice ribbons" will fly up and down.
On January 11, 2022, in the Urban Construction Building in Beijing's North Third Ring Road, a reporter from China Real Estate News visited Li Jiulin, the legendary "Chief Engineer of The Double Olympics", and listened to him talk about his mental journey and the sleepless nights of overcoming the technical problems of "card neck".
Backwater War: Building a "nest" for 5 years
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is a century-old dream and a millennium event of the Chinese nation, and it is also a competition for comprehensive national strength, economic strength, scientific and technological strength, cultural charm, and national image and national status.
As the main venue of the Summer Olympic Games, the "Bird's Nest" was the world's largest, most technologically advanced, most complex structure, and unprecedented construction difficulty of the super-large steel structure sports facilities project, and was also known as a miracle in the history of world architecture.
As a civil engineer, Li Jiulin is one of the creators of this miracle.
Turning the clock back to 2003, the then 35-year-old Li Jiulin ushered in the highlight of his career - as the chief engineer of the "Bird's Nest" project. Recalling the 5 years of building the "Bird's Nest", Li Jiulin felt that it was more appropriate to describe it as "a battle against the water".
Li Jiulin compared himself to a primary school student at that time: "The construction of the 'Bird's Nest' is like a teacher who gives a primary school student a set of problems, and what the primary school student does every day is to try everything and innovate to solve problems and find answers." Because of the particularity of the 'Bird's Nest' project, we have unconsciously made some achievements in the process of solving the problem. ”
Among the many difficult technical topics that Li Jiulin and his team have overcome, the most difficult is steel structure construction. The steel structure with a long shaft of 333 meters and 42,000 tons creates a huge stress on the foot and column of the column in the north-south direction of the largest span of the "Bird's Nest", and only the use of high-strength steel such as Q460E can solve the load-bearing problem of the structure.
However, at that time, the steel that met the construction requirements was not produced in China, and it was difficult to rely on the international market for supply. Li Jiulin and the team made up their minds: joint design units, subcontracting units, material suppliers, etc. to carry out technical research, independently develop Q460E high-strength steel for construction. The new steel weldability is poor, the construction period is tight, Li Jiulin took the initiative to take on the heavy responsibility, and began a set of technical experiments and innovations such as the determination of welding methods and the welding training of workers, and won the "roadblock" of high-strength steel and supported the steel backbone of the National Stadium.
Starting from the "Bird's Nest", domestic Q460E high-strength steel has been widely used in a series of landmark buildings, and China has become a major producer of high-strength steel and one of the most widely used countries in the construction field. The world's problems such as welding of high-strength steel thick plate and welding whole process control technology have been solved, and the world has been realized from filling the domestic production and technology gaps to running the world.
Due to the complexity of the steel structure, during the construction process, Li Jiulin and the team also encountered another problem: how to express the geometric configuration of the bird's nest? How to manage a large number of steel structural components? How is the construction process expressed? If these problems are not solved, subsequent materials and construction cannot be carried out.
"According to the level of technology and technology at that time, we could not answer these questions. However, the problem is in front of us, and it can only be solved step by step like an analytical equation, and finally the problem is solved by developing a new collaborative management platform. Li Jiulin recalled that in 2002, the concept of BIM (Building Information Modeling) had just emerged internationally, and there was a lack of domestic awareness of it. After the completion of the collaborative management platform of "Bird's Nest", he and his team realized that the platform they had built was a realistic application of BIM.
Inadvertently planting willows, the "Bird's Nest" has become the first widely recognized project in China to systematically research and apply BIM, opening the way for the development of BIM and digital construction technology in China's construction industry. Nowadays, with the help of major projects such as the Olympic Project, this technology has integrated advanced information technologies such as BIM, Internet of Things, cloud computing, mobile Internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and digital twins, forming a relatively mature theoretical system of intelligent construction.
From the construction in 2003 to the official departure at the end of 2008, more than 1,800 days and nights, Li Jiulin moved the cover roll to the "Bird's Nest" construction site, day and night to deconstruct the complex problem of "Bird's Nest" construction. In 5 years, he and his team organized and formulated more than 500 construction plans such as construction design outline, construction general design, steel structure construction design, etc., organized and planned hundreds of expert technical demonstrations, organized analysis, calculation and experimental research on the basis of designing only more than 150 steel structure design drawings, and completed more than 20,000 deepening design and construction drawings. It has solved dozens of world-class construction technology problems such as ultra-long air drill foundation pile construction technology and Q460E high-strength steel welding technology applied for the first time in China.
There is a French proverb: "Man can build anything but a bird's nest". On August 8, 2008, when 29 splendid "footprints" went from Yongdingmen to the "Bird's Nest" and witnessed China's hosting of the most successful Olympic Games, Li Jiulin breathed a sigh of relief: Bird's Nest, we have built.
Journey Again: Building a "China Solution" That Stands the Test
Winter Olympic venue "Ice Ribbon". Courtesy of respondents
In July 2015, Beijing and Zhangjiakou successfully bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the former becoming the first "double Olympic city" in Olympic history. Subsequently, in 2018, the National Speed Skating Hall (Ice Ribbon) was officially built, and the 50-year-old Li Jiulin once again "put on a dress" and served as the chief engineer of the project.
Recalling the beginning and end of the construction of the "Ice Ribbon," Li Jiulin said that unlike the hasty battle during the construction of the "Bird's Nest," the construction of the "Ice Ribbon" is a battle that is truly well prepared and full of confidence.
Li Jiulin said: "The technical points inherent in major projects are similar, and many of the key points of ice ribbon construction draw on the experience accumulated during the construction of the 'Bird's Nest'. The difference is that the 'Bird's Nest' is a typical sequential construction, which can be adjusted while construction, and the ice ribbon is parallel construction, which puts forward extremely high requirements for the organization and management of the team and the project, and must be prepared for the rain. ”
Before the accumulation of rich experience and the wave of changes in the times, Li Jiulin also realized that from the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games, the construction goals of Olympic venues have undergone earth-shaking changes.
"The Olympic venues are of the times, iconic and leading, when building the 'Bird's Nest', our purpose is to build a magnificent building with quality and quantity, and when it comes to the ice ribbon, our purpose is to build a green and sustainable smart building." Li Jiulin said that the smart stadium is an important part of the construction of the "ice ribbon", including the intelligent construction process and the intelligent operation.
Therefore, as early as the beginning of the design of the "Ice Ribbon", the construction team has clearly defined and implemented six technical points: the whole process BIM, the whole process simulation, high-precision machining, intelligent installation, measurement and control technology and deviation dynamic adjustment technology.
In order to make this project to the extreme, Li Jiulin and his team began to take the initiative to increase their "burden". For example, the "Ice Ribbon" is designed with the world's largest single-layer two-way orthogonal saddle-shaped cable roof, and the high vanadium closed cable it uses has long relied on imports. Li Jiulin once again vigorously defied public opinion, adhered to the road of localization, and took the initiative to shoulder the heavy responsibility of breaking through the core technical barriers.
The application of domestic high vanadium closed cable in the national large-scale stadium for the first time has filled the domestic technology gap, not only realized completely independent intellectual property rights, but also completely broke the monopoly of the international market, reduced the construction cost of engineering, and domestic high-end materials were once again realized and run.
In terms of green and sustainable development, in order to better achieve energy-saving and environmental protection effects, the "ice ribbon" as far as possible to reduce the height of the building, make full use of the underground space, its highest point is only 33.8 meters, the above-ground construction area is less than 30,000 square meters; its 198-meter × a large-span cable net of 124 meters, using only a few hundred tons of steel, which is 1/4 of the amount of steel used in traditional construction methods.
In terms of ice-making technology, in order to be more green and environmentally friendly, Li Jiulin and his team boldly innovated and changed the original R507 refrigerant and glycol carrier refrigerant ice-making system to a carbon dioxide transcritical direct-cooled ice-making system. Applying new ice-making technology, the "Ice Ribbon" not only has better ice surface quality, but also can achieve substantial energy saving and environmental protection. It is estimated that its GWP value (global warming potential) is only nearly 1/4000 of the original plan, and under full ice conditions, it can save about 2 million kWh of electricity a year.
In the specific experience scenario, the "strongest brain" intelligent integration and digital twin platform of "Ice Ribbon" can achieve accurate accounting of carbon emissions through the integrated CO2 (carbon dioxide) monitoring system of heaven and earth and space; the humidity, temperature, and wind speed of the venue detected by the intelligent sensor in real time can be collected and calculated, and the number of personnel in each area of the audience calculated by the 360-degree detection system (the temperature will be different), and the seat air supply system and dehumidification system can be adjusted to ensure that the ice surface is always in the best condition to ensure that the "fastest ice" is created. It can provide viewers with AI+AR-based photo navigation, 8K+VR and 360-degree low-latency customized viewing angle viewing, 3D AI skating games, and so on.
Li Jiulin said that the construction of the "Ice Ribbon" smart venue integrates the most advanced information technology, the best quality audience experience, and the most refined management, focusing on long-term sustainable operation, and finally forming a "Chinese plan" that can stand the test of history.
Craftsman essence: long-termism, the pursuit of excellence
From 2003 to now, in the past 20 years, Li Jiulin, the "chief engineer of the Double Olympic Games", has left half of the years at the construction site of the Olympic venues, and the remaining half has not stopped, always challenging one peak after another and solving one problem after another.
Li Jiulin clearly remembers the historical moments when the building broke through the skyline - the successful unloading of the "Bird's Nest" steel grid frame "wrote a miracle in the history of world architecture"; the Kunming Changshui International Airport Terminal took the lead in introducing BIM technology in mechanical and electrical engineering and operation and maintenance in China, and the construction industry transformed to greening, industrialization and informatization; Huaifang Reclaimed Water Plant, Asia's largest all-underground reclaimed water plant, integrated BIM technology, Internet of Things, big data and other intelligent construction systems for the first time The new Shougang Bridge, another new landmark of the western extension of Beijing's Chang'an Avenue, adopts all-digital bridge building technology; "Ice Ribbon" pioneers the efficient and high-precision construction engineering organization method and support technology system based on parallel construction, creating the speed and quality of the Winter Olympics.
Li Jiulin said bluntly: "I can't always delve into the same problem like a scientist, but I can continue to solve one construction problem after another and experience the transformation and development of our country's construction industry." In every project construction, we continue to try and innovate, and constantly sum up experience, which is the mark of the development of this era. ”
Along the way, Li Jiulin has a deeper understanding and feeling of the craftsman spirit industry. He concluded that the spirit of craftsmanship stems from the love of things, and doing things for the purpose of supporting the family is far from meeting the standards of craftsmen.
With this love, it is also necessary to have four characteristics: one is to have a heart that pursues excellence and pursues the ultimate; the other is to have a strong spirit of innovation, do not follow the rules, do not follow the steps, and constantly integrate new thinking and new practices; the third is to adhere to long-term practice and focus on doing one thing; the fourth is to integrate into art, when a thing is done to the extreme, it is no longer a simple technical problem, it should be organically combined with aesthetics.
Li Jiulin said that from a broader point of view, sometimes the spirit of craftsmanship does not refer to a single individual, but to a group. For example, the construction of the "ice ribbon" has always run through the craftsman spirit of the big country, from planning to design to construction, the "ice ribbon" has strict norms and standards, but all participants only regard this standard as a bottom line, not the ultimate goal. Our goal is to pursue excellence above the bottom line and pursue the ultimate.
"The special nature of the Olympic project makes everyone involved in the construction of the Olympic project, whether it is a manager or a front-line worker, full of responsibility, pride and mission. We will proudly tell others that I have contributed to the Olympics. In this atmosphere, the spirit of craftsmanship can often be better reflected. Li Jiulin said.
In Li Jiulin's heart, the spirit of craftsmanship is eternal and is the inheritance between generations and generations. However, if you want to carry forward this spirit, you need to create a good social atmosphere that advocates the spirit of craftsmen, so that every craftsman has a sense of honor and feels the respect of society for the profession he is engaged in. Li Jiulin suggested that it is necessary to strengthen the cultivation of skilled talents and improve their social status and salary.
Recalling the days and nights of the past, Li Jiulin said with great emotion: "As a civil engineer, I am grateful for this great era, without the strength of the country, there would be no personal honor, and it is a great honor to be able to participate in the construction of olympic venues twice." ”
Right
China Real Estate News: The special era has created a building that belongs to the times. As far as the construction of the "Bird's Nest" is concerned, what is your deepest feeling?
Li Jiulin: The construction of the "Bird's Nest" is to contribute to the realization of the country's century-old dream, and that sense of responsibility and mission is completely different from other projects. I joked with my colleagues that if there was a chance to build another "bird's nest" somewhere else, the average person would definitely think that we had already done it once, and this time would be better. But I don't think so, because the "Bird's Nest" cannot be industrialized and reproduced, it carries the responsibility and mission of an era.
I once said to my colleagues that you must gain more by building a "bird's nest" than you would from studying for a Ph.D. He is right, as the chief engineer, I need to bear a lot of decision-making risks and pressures, the work in the various professional fields involved in the project needs to be completed by the whole team, I need to face the experts in various professional fields, and constantly get their help, which motivates me to continue to learn and grow.
China Real Estate News: "Ice Ribbon" is the second Olympic venue you participated in the construction, what is the change in personal mentality?
Li Jiulin: Although I have accumulated a wealth of experience in building the "Bird's Nest", as the chief engineer, I am still under great pressure to be responsible for the project. Therefore, in the early stage of construction, we proposed to maintain a good mental state and always strive for the first place like a sports competition. In our own words, it is to benchmark the "bird's nest" and surpass the "bird's nest", because beyond other engineers do not like to hear, but the "bird's nest" is built by themselves, which is equivalent to surpassing themselves.
China Real Estate News: What does it mean to you to participate in the construction of the Olympic Project twice?
Li Jiulin: Civil engineering has a strong sense of experience, participated in the construction of the Olympic project, personal vision and pattern will be greatly improved, this kind of exercise opportunity for personal growth is very rare.
China Real Estate News: As a civil engineer, what problems do you think the transformation of the construction industry is facing? What are the suggestions?
Li Jiulin: The construction industry has made great contributions to social development and is a pillar industry of the country, but in society, the construction industry is not a particularly respected industry. Although our country has the saying of "infrastructure power", when it comes to the construction industry, the general social perception is high pollution; practitioners come and go in the wind and rain, and the gray head and dirt face are accompanied by dirt bricks and tiles.
On traditional construction sites, there are very few young people, but in the high-end home improvement industry, there are many young people. The reason behind this is whether the profession they are engaged in is respected and decent. Young people engaged in the high-end home improvement industry, after work, change into clean clothes, they can squeeze the subway home like ordinary citizens and integrate into the development of the city, but the traditional construction workers are far from this, often unpopular.
As far as the transformation of the construction industry is concerned, the fundamental problem is to solve the labor problem, and we need more craftsmen, more high-level industrial workers to support the development of the construction industry. I hope that our industry can adhere to the drive of scientific and technological innovation, truly achieve high-quality development, enhance the competitiveness of the industry at home and abroad, and also hope that through multi-party efforts, change the perception of the outside world on the construction industry, so that every construction industry practitioner is full of professional pride.
China Real Estate News: What suggestions are there for improving the quality of housing?
Li Jiulin: The problem of housing quality is an important issue facing the development of the construction industry. For example, why is our house leakage problem reaching more than 80%, while abroad is only 10% to 20%? Although this kind of basic work has a lot to do with the sense of responsibility and professional standards of the practitioners, in essence, I think it is related to the issue of institutional mechanisms. For example, in the United States, although waterproofing is achieved by basic operations, the United States has a special waterproofing industry, professional skilled workers, a complete quality system, and a sound insurance system, which can be said to have a complete system to ensure waterproof work.
China Real Estate News: What message do you have for young people? How do you seize the opportunity?
Li Jiulin: The most fundamental thing for a person is to do a good job in front of him, to do a good job of himself, to do a good job in the present. Only if you work hard, the opportunity may belong to you. I once thought that at the age of 35 in 2003, I participated in the construction of the "Bird's Nest" and in 2018, I participated in the construction of the "Ice Ribbon", and if I had transformed into other work in the middle of these years, I might have missed these opportunities.