Austrian Pavilion for Shanghai Expo Update
Almost a year ago, we featured the Austrian Pavilion designed by Vienna based firms SPAN and Zeytinoglu Architects for Shanghai World Expo 2010. Now, the pavilion is almost complete. See more images of the construction after the break.
Monaco Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010 / NAÇO Architecture
Designed by NAÇO Architecture, Monaco’s Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010 will feature a movie that will take visitors on a lap of Monaco Grand Prix and show a luxury ecological car prototype of the new Venturi Volage.
The 2,000-square-meter pavilion will invite visitors to explore the evolution of casr, city transformation and KERS system from Monaco Grand Prix’s beginning in 1929 in a special area dedicated to Formula One. The Monaco leg is the only city in the world to have a circuit inside it. Upon entering the pavilion, visitors will see a six-minute animation movie “Monaco, a rock for eternity” exclusively produced for the Expo. An extraordinary adventure will be unfolded, which will send visitors back to prehistoric times.
The cinema can accommodate 250 people and will be equipped with a high definition screen of 56 meters. A walk along typical old streets of Monaco will allow visitors to discover the city and its flora and fauna. More images after the break.
Dutch Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010
The Dutch submission to the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is an exceptional one. This time around, it will not be the classic pavilion with long lines of visitors waiting outside and a presentation inside. The Netherlands is making its appearance at China’s world exposition along an entire street. The submission, entitled “Happy Street”, is the response by designer John Kormeling to the Chinese Expo theme “Better City, Better Life” and the sub-themes:
- Urban cultural diversity
- Urban economic growth and prosperity
- Innovation in science and technology in urban contexts
- Remodelling urban communities
- Interaction between urban and rural areas.
Find out more about Holland’s pavilion right here. More images and a video after the break.
Shanghai 2010: Almost ready?
There’s still a little bit more than a month till the opening of Shanghai’s World Expo 2010, scheduled for May 1st. Many construction workers are still working to finish the pavilions that will receive up to 800,000 visitors every day, expecting a total of 70 million visitors till October 31, when the Expo will close its doors. So are the pavilions ready? Check the updates on several countries after the break.
Seen at The Big Picture.
Bosnia and Herzegovina pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010
Miron Ibrahimpasis from in/out arh studio, along with architects Lamila Simisic and Jasmina Dizdarevic won first prize for exterior design at the competition to design Bosnia and Herzegovina pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo 2010.
More images and architect’s description after the break.
The Water Cube / MVRDV
MVRDV shared with us their design of The Water Cube, a pavilion for the World Expo 2012 in Yeosu, Korea. The theme of the Expo is “The Living Ocean and Coast”. You can see more proposals for the thematic pavilion by Ginseng Chicken, PTA, and Nicoletti Associati.
More images and architect’s description after the break.
Latvia Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010
Latvian architects Mailītis A.I.I.M., were selected to design the Latvian Pavilion for this year’s Shanghai World Expo. Construction started in the end of 2009.
More images and architect’s description after the break.
Sweden Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010
As the key words “Sustainability, Innovation and Communication” cornerstones, the Swedish Pavilion, designed by SWECO, showcases how the nation’s spirit of innovation solves problems, improves the urban environment and living standards, and demonstrates the importance of communication under the new technology situation.
The pavilion comprises four cube-like structures that are arranged to form a cross-like space between them — a shape much like Sweden’s flag when seen from above.The outside walls show a city-like grid; the inside walls are covered with images of nature. These cubes are connected by elevated walkways, and house the exhibition,VIP areas, a shop, a café, and a large covered courtyard — room enough for everyone.
More images and description after the break.
Sherbourne Park Pavilion / Teeple Architects
Currently in construction, Sherbourne Park is built upon the abstraction of an iconic Canadian Great Lake landscape. Integral to the park is the Teeple Architects designed Pavilion. This 227m2 sculpturally shaped, zinc-clad structure will function both as an iconic moment in the park and as an abstracted arch that frames views to the lake. I
t will also serve as an urban connector that fuses the various elements of the park together. The Sherbourne Park Pavilion is an instrumental component of large scale initiatives to revitalize the City of Toronto’s waterfront.
Full architect’s description and more images after the break.
Biennale Pavilion / Shigeru Ban Architects
The HZ SZ Bi-City Biennale is in full swing (we just featured the Bug Pavilion a few days ago) and the festival’s catchy “‘Bring Your Own Biennale” (BYOB) slogan aims to stimulate “our collective role in the creation of an innovative Bi-City Biennale between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.” Conversations around the area are focusing on how Hong Kong’s society can make an active imprint on their city’s future. The BYOB is “at once contextual but also reflective, a unique opportunity to speculate on what our impact on the metropolis could be.” For the Biennale’s main pavilion, designed by Shiegeru Ban Architects, a paper tube structure provides a semi-open space for events such as forums, workshops and events.
More about the main pavilion after the break.
Hong Kong Pavilion for Shanghai 2010 / Ida and Billy
The theme of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo is “Better City, Better Life”, and the special theme for the Hong Kong Pavilion is “Hong Kong – a city with unlimited potential“. A concept design competition was held in 2008 and received some 80+ submissions. Ida & Billy’s submission was awarded the Frist Prize, and formed the basis for the final design and execution by the government and another architectural firm.
Their design is driven by the functional needs of the pavilion, that is how to provide the required exhbition space and other facilities within a limited space and with a height limit; and to make the Hong Kong Pavilion, which is much smaller in size than the other pavilions, to still have its own attraction and uniqness.
More images and full architect’s description after the break.
Slow Food / Sagan Piechota Architecture
Architects: Sagan Piechota Architecture
Location: Fort Mason Pavilion, San Francisco, USA
Project Team: Mike Eggers, Andy Payne, Vivian Hsu, Ben Frombgen, Jeremy Tsai, Rich Porter, Charlotte Hofstetter, Daniel Piechota, Loring Sagan
Client: Slow Food Nation
Project Area: 73.6 sqm
Project Year: 2008
Rendering: Andy Payne
Photographs: Matthew Millman
Woods of Net / Tezuka Architects
During this last few months we have presented you several works by the japanese office Tezuka Architects. The houses have very strong concepts, tied to different ways of inhabiting these projects designed specifically for each client.
Now we present you Woods of Net, a permanent pavilion for japanese net artist Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam, in collaboration with structural engineers TIS & PARTNERS.
The pavilion is located at the Hakone Open-Air Museum, a unique open museum located in one of the most visited tourist spots in Japan. Woods of Net was added to the collection of art works as part of their 40th anniversary.
After the break, the architects description of the pavilion with photos by Abel Erazo.
ACE Pavilion / Sameep Padora & Associates
Architect: Sameep Padora & Associates
Location: Mumbai, India
Client: Galeecha India Pvt. Ltd.
Design Team: Sameep Padora, Shashank Srivastava
Cost: 3,500 USD
On-Site Assemblage: 36 hours
Drawings: Shashank Srivastava
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Raju Shukla
Russia Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010
Russia will decorate its pavilion for the 2010 World Expo like a fairy-tale world, showing a comfortable city as seen through children’s eyes. The country unveiled its pavilion design which will be on a 6,000-square-meter plot and feature 12 white towers inspired by traditional Russian women’s costume.
The 20-meter towers, in white, red and gold, will duplicate the ancient Ural towns dating back 3,000 years ago, but given a modern touch with their irregular shapes. They demonstrate the diversity of both ancient and modern cities, said Vladimir Strashko, Russia’s commission general for the Expo.
A 15-meter-tall central building will link the towers. More images after the break.
Singapore Pavillion for Shanghai World Expo 2010
The Singapore Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 is to be called Urban Symphony – a tribute to how Singapore houses a delicate harmony of cultures coexisting together in a city-state.
Designed by Kay Ngee Tan Architects, the theme is best expressed in the pavilion’s architecture, one which evokes images of a musical box. It forms an orchestra of elements and a symphony for the senses – from the choreography of the plaza’s water fountain, the rhythm of fenestrations on the façade, the interplay of sounds and visuals, to the mélange of flora on the roof garden.
Pictures and exhibits of Singapore adorn the way to the atrium space and main hall of the first floor, where visitors will enjoy various activities; taking in performances right up to the expanse of the second floor’s column-free open space. Topping off Singapore’s reputation as a much-admired garden city is the rooftop’s A Garden in the Sky, which ably captures the essence of life in Singapore. More info in the pavilion’s official website. More images and a video after the break.
Pavillion 21 / Coop Himmelb(l)au
Coop Himmelb(l)au has designed a temporary mobile performance space for the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Germany. The pavilion will house performances during the annual Opera Festival in 2010, and once that festival is over, the pavilion will be reassembled in various locations. Designed to “give the impression of a quieter environment,” the pavilion reduces the apparent noise to create a ‘zone of silence’ where visitors can sense a change in the soundscape.
More images and more about the pavilion after the break.
Yeosu Expo 2012 / Nicoletti Associati
Studio Nicoletti Associati’s design for an oceanic pavilion placed third in the Yeosu Expo. The pavilion, which was conceived as a Great Blue Whale hurling itself out of the port, intends to represent the Expo’s theme: The Living Ocean and Coast. The pavilion draws attention to the fundamental influence of the planet’s oceans and coasts resources, and how dangerous it is for such a fragile ecosystem, to ignore them. The jury added that the pavilion has “a strong and powerful form that would become instantly recognizable. The theme of the Expo is symbolically represented with a shape drawn from marine life. The image of the pavilion is consistent with the theme of the ocean. Its fluid shape celebrates the nature of water and the marine life that has adapted to it. It makes a very simple but powerful metaphorical relationship. The exhibition space is very practical for post-use.”
More images of the pavilion after the break.
Turkey Pavillion for Shanghai Expo 2010
The Turkey Pavilion unveiled its design this week and its theme “The Cradle of Civilization” was inspired by one of the first known settlements in the world, said Sencar Ozsoy, commissioner general of Turkey.
The main inspiration for the exterior of the 2,000-square-meter rented pavilion was also derived from settlements called “Catalhoyuk” in Turkish, which were the center of advanced culture in the Neolithic period.
The pavilion looks like an amazing red and beige box with an animal sculpture, inviting visitors to explore a maze of dreams. The first section of the pavilion will take visitors through a journey of time to learn about Turkey’s historical firsts. A map indicating the ancient sites of Turkey, the world’s first mirror and the world’s first man-built dam will be featured here. Istanbul’s infrastructure will also be introduced.
In the middle section, a 360-degree movie will display scenes from the streets of Istanbul to reflect the pride of the city as the European Capital of Culture. Visitors will then encounter the future in the final section, which is represented by a symbolic figure of the phoenix, a mythical bird which dies in flames and is reborn from the ashes, to embody aspirations for the future.
Malaysia Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010
Construction for the Malaysia Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo began a couple of weeks ago. The 3,000-square-meter pavilion will be like a traditional and high Malaysian hut. The facade of the pavilion will be made from a combination of palm oil and plastic, which will be recycled for other constructions after Expo.
The country will showcase its natural landscape and the solidarity of its different ethnic groups with the theme “One Malaysia — City Harmonious Living.” Malaysia has 47 ethnic groups, who live comfortably together in urban and rural areas. The country would highlight the harmonious conditions and interactivity between cities and villages, Malaysian Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen said.
Visitors will be able to pitch and putt at an indoor golf area in the two-story pavilion. The pavilion would hold lucky draws on key days during the Expo, such as August 31, Malaysia’s national day, and May 31 when China and Malaysia set up diplomatic relationships, Ng said.
More images and a video after the break.
New Amsterdam Pavilion / UNStudio
Yesterday afternoon, we had the pleasure of attending the opening day of Ben van Berkel’s New Amsterdam Pavilion in Peter Minuit Plaza, just outside Battery Park in Manhattan. After walking around the pavilion and watching New Yorkers’ first encounters with the new sculptural piece, we had the opportunity to study the project with Mr. van Berkel as he explained his ideas and process. The pavilion is a gift from the Netherlands to New York in honour of 400 years of friendship; yet the pavilion does not attempt to physically manifest a representation of that relationship. Rather, the pavilion can be interpreted in different ways and speaks to both the history and the future of the city.
More about our talk with van Berkel and more images after the break.
