The striking exterior of the National Swimming Center being constructed for the 2008 Olympic Games has caused it to be nicknamed the "Water Cube".  It's made from panels of lightweight Teflon that transform the building into an energy-efficient greenhouse-like environment.  Solar energy will be used to heat the swimming pools that are designed to reuse double-filtered, backwashed pool water that's usually dumped as waste.

          Excess rainwater will also be collected, stored in subterranean tanks, and used to fill pools.  The complex engineering system of curvy steel frames that form the bubble-like skin structure are based on research by two physicists at Dublin's Trinity College on the structural properties of soap bubbles.  The unique structure is designed to help the building withstand nearly any seismic disruptions.