Danish Pavilion for Shanghai / 3XN Architects

Jun 2009

By Karen Cilento — Filed under: Architecture News , 3XN, Dutch Pavilion, Shanghai 2010

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3XN architects’ proposal for the Danish pavilion for the Shanghai expo 2010 uses their national flag to create a dynamic spatial environment. ”An exhibition window is an invitation that says: Welcome inside a little piece of Denmark. And in 2010, in the age of globalisation, it is important to add: Welcome to a Denmark that is part of the world,” stated the architects.

The competition for the pavilion was awarded to BIG as we reported earlier.

More about the pavilion after the break.

Even from a distance, the 3,000 sqm pavilion, constructed with red and white rectangles, is easily identifiable with the Danes. Upon approaching, the building is understood as not only being clad in the country’s colors, but also being a three dimensional version of the flag. The four red rectangular fields form eight blocks and the white creates an open space in the center where users can view exhibitions. Entrances and exits are emphasized by the slight shifting of the geometric planes that also provide shelter from the rain and shade on sunny days.

Conceptual thinking for the pavilion led the architects to focus on the four areas used to globally market the country: Denmark as responsible and balanced, with a focus on high quality, experimental and courageous, and characterised by environmental awareness, simplicity and efficiency. Each characteristic receives its own rectangle so that the characteristics are reflected not only in the individual forms, but also in the pavilion itself.

Images courtesy of 3XN. As seen on designboom.

Address: Shanghai, China
Client: The Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs
Area: 3,000 m2
3XN Team: Kim Herforth Nielsen, Jan Ammundsen, Stig Vesterager Gothelf, Rasmus Hjortshøj, Mans Nijkamp, Ulrich Pohl, Majbritt Lerche Madsen, Stephen Clarke, Berglind Elfudottir, Christian Bundegaard, Bodil Nordstrøm, Christina Melholt Brogaard

Cite:
Cilento , Karen . "Danish Pavilion for Shanghai / 3XN Architects" 20 Jun 2009. ArchDaily. Accessed 10 Feb 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/25499>

Comments (22)
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Sofie says:

I kinda like it!
The designers based the pavilion on their national flag, which might become too obvious, but insteas it really works. It is an interesting building to represent Denmark in Shanghai!

# June 20, 2009 at 16:05

Thomas says:

The concept is kind of banal, but it works and I do like it.

# June 20, 2009 at 16:14

Balkan says:

I agree:)

# June 20, 2009 at 17:25

dustin says:

The exterior looks quite nice, I hate those interior renders though, they never really let you know what is really going on, they look so overdone and they are not understandable.

# June 20, 2009 at 19:04

Scledon says:

There’s something about this building that I love… May be the color

# June 20, 2009 at 19:15

Boris Dundović says:

A simple concept, for a strong impression. Very good!

# June 20, 2009 at 20:36

ARN says:

I like the conception, nice shape, good proposal.

# June 20, 2009 at 21:46

Lasse says:

I like that they unlike BIG are focusing on Denmark and not just Copenhagen..

And yes; very obvious – yet somehow nice. I like how the 3d flag creates a multi axis center. And the walls(screens) almost succed in capturing the essence of a flag in the wind. Well done..

The interior render is a funny comment on the danish weather:)

# June 21, 2009 at 04:56

bs says:

It’s so beaten by the Expo ’10 by BIG!!
Lucky for Denmark and the EXPO ’10, that BIG won!

# June 21, 2009 at 05:50

Chris says:

@dustinb
I gotta disagree with you here. the interior renders (last 3 pics) though a bit overdone are very understandable.. and the interior itself is not only interesting but also versatile (see pic8/dan07)! overall very nice project.

# June 21, 2009 at 06:03

Lucas Gray says:

I prefer the BIG project. This one is alright although I find the concept of using the flag kind of amateurish. I am also not a fan of the over the top flashy renderings. Not only are they hard to understand but they give no sense of materiality nor what the space will actually look like. I understand they were going for an atmospheric approach that left it open to the imagination but a little more attention to reality would be nice.

# June 21, 2009 at 06:25

Timothy says:

Like many concepts on archdaily, it is hard to say if and how the proposed project will be “made”. Maybe it would be nice to see some construction-details every now and than. It is hard to say if a design concept is good or not, without knowing the implications for the contractor building it. Architecture is not about dreaming if designing is a serious job.
Once again: nice pics, but where is the coherancy between thougts and material; yes, even gravity?

# June 21, 2009 at 06:39

Samuel says:

I look at the exterior of this as being much stronger than the BIG pavillion, but I understand why it wasn’t chosen. While the colour scheme and almost literal translation of the Danish flag into form are easily interpreted, they are a little shallow.

The interior renderings don’t inspire confidence that this would be anywhere near as nice to inhabit as the BIG proposal, either.

# June 21, 2009 at 10:01

ANTHONY says:

Mucha audacia habra que verlo construido es hermoso.

# June 21, 2009 at 10:54

skubanga says:

is this any better than the pavillion concept for macau? http://www.archdaily.com/21120/macau-pavillion-for-shanghai-expo-2010-carlos-marreiros/

# June 21, 2009 at 19:23

cocteau says:

i love the inner space it´s very dinamic.

# June 21, 2009 at 21:17

truss says:

another reason for some more triangulation stuff… lets destroy our national flag… lets shake em and kick em in 3D apps et voila… :-)

so 1999 :-(

# June 23, 2009 at 05:22

fernando says:

What happened with the original pavilion design? the one that is in the EXPO official webpage?

# June 23, 2009 at 08:52

3D says:

Beautyful 3D.

# June 23, 2009 at 12:52

bshi says:

beautiful project.
very generous interior reflecting a contrasting image with the exterior.
i do agree that the rendering is overdone and that it is misleading and confusing in terms of materiality and the lighting condition.
however, a very convincing way of presenting an idea.
nice

# November 7, 2009 at 01:10

Ethel Baraona Pohl says:

The Danish one is here | http://tinyurl.com/l4z4pz < no updated images, sorry! @VariousArch + @arkinet

# March 16, 2010 at 08:52

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# November 16, 2011 at 05:40

4:06 PM Jun 20th

China Network

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5:49 PM Jun 20th

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8:06 PM Jun 20th

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#events #us Danish Pavilion for Shanghai / 3XN Architects | ArchDaily http://bit.ly/tMSo5

3:45 PM Jun 21st

geke