Shougang Steel Mill Transformed into Beijing 2022 Olympic Venue with Italian Design

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics have drawn attention to the Shougang industrial site, a former steel mill turned into a sports and cultural hub. The iconic Big Air ski jump is set against the cooling towers of what was once China's largest steel plant, sparking debate about the Games' sustainability. Shougang, covering 9 million square meters, represents Beijing's urban renaissance, transforming the Shijingshan district into a recreational center. The Politecnico di Torino, the only foreign designer invited, converted the Oxygen Factory into a visitor center, preserving its structural skeleton and adding a suspended glass and concrete volume. The project, coordinated by Professor Michele Bonino, applied Urban Ergonomics theories. The site's regeneration cost about 4.9 billion Yuan and aims to set a new model for industrial heritage reuse, blending memory, sport, and commerce. The 100-year-old Shougang, founded in 1919, played a key role in Beijing's industrial history and now hosts Olympic events, with the Big Air jump becoming a permanent structure. The Italian team worked with Tsinghua Architectural Design and Research Institute on the master plan.