RMJM to design key Beijing olympic venue.

Chinese developer Beijing North Star has awarded Great Britain-based RMJM, the commission to design the Beijing Olympic Green Convention Center, one of the 2008 Olympic Games' key venues. RMJM beat out competitors that included OMA, Philip Cox Architects, and KMD with a design that straddles several different sites of the games and includes elevated piazzas and pedestrian bridges. The biggest challenge of the project, says Gordon Affleck, an associate director for RMJM based in Hong Kong, China, is that the convention center is supposed to include historic themes from the Qin Dynasty because it sits midway on the games' main boulevard. The convention center, just under 3 million square feet, will be located near many other key sites, including the main sports stadium, the swimming complex, and the Olympic Park.