Tennis Center of Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Center (commonly known as “Small Lotus”)

Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Center, located in the southern bank of Qiantang River, houses both a “Large Lotus” (common name for the Main Arena of Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Center) and a “Small Lotus” (common name for the Tennis Center of Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Center), the latter of which is a tennis finals court that adopts “petal” design as well.

The Tennis Center of Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Center is a tennis stadium for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. With a total construction area of some 50,000 square meters and 15,600 seats, it is the only ITF-recognized tennis court in China (Two Star).

Tennis Center

The Tennis Center is equipped with 1 10,000-seat covered tennis finals court, 2 2,000-seat semifinals courts, 6 preliminaries courts, 10 fields for practice and 4 indoor sports fields.

The exterior steel structure envelope of the Tennis Center is flower-looking by creating a circular array of truss modules known as “petals”. It is composed of 24 “petals” for the lower part and 8 rotatable “large petals” for the upper part.

Aerial shot of the steel structure of the Tennis Center

Exterior steel structure of the Tennis Center

Exterior steel structure of the Tennis Center

Facade of the Tennis Center and its surrounding buildings in the same picture

The best part of the Tennis Center is its outer shell that opens and closes dynamically. It is a cantilevered, rotating and openable metal roof with fixed axis. The technology involved is pioneering in the world.

Outer shell of the Tennis Center

The 8 “petals” on the top, though visually independent, are a whole, opening and closing synchronously, exuding a kind of dynamic beauty.

“Petals” designed to be opened and closed synchronously shot by Xue Xiaoyong

The shell of the arena can be rotated to open and close depending on the weather, and it takes about 20 minutes for each operation.

When the shells are opened, the arena, viewed from the air, resembles a lotus flower in full bloom.

The 14th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) was also held at the Tennis Center previously.

The 14th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) shot by Wang Chuan

The 14th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) shot by Wang Chuan

Now, it has been renovated to accommodate nearly 10,000 spectators. Red elements can be seen everywhere in the arena, showing the vitality of sports.

The arena after renovation

The arena after renovation

The arena after renovation

The arena after renovation

The “Small Lotus” and “Large Lotus” share a special “floodlighting” system for their fa?ades. Tailor-made dimmer mode is applied to the former so as to design and create different light effect according to the characteristics of different seasons.

Night view of the “Large Lotus” and “Small Lotus”

As night falls, the lights along the Qiantang River are on, and the two super-large “lotus flowers” will slowly “bloom”.

“Large Lotus” and “Small Lotus” at night shot by Yang Guoliang

(Source of photos in this article: Contribution Center of Hangzhou Qianjiang New City Construction Management Committee)