Archinect - News

Trahan Architects unveils U.S. pavilion design for Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai

2024-02-08T15:06:00-05:00

Trahan Architects has unveiled its USA Pavilion design for World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. The county’s official entry will play host to a slate of exhibitions designed to showcase American scientific exploration and entrepreneurship and will be completed by an official project team that includes HOOD Design, Dot Dash, and several other specialty studios.

Chicago's former Mayor and the current U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, says it will stand as "an embodiment of American spirit." Organizers are expecting approximately 30 million visitors.

Image: © Trahan Architects

Visitors will pass through a ringed wall that surrounds the Expo before entering the pavilion, which is separated into two wings that are connected via a suspended cubic form serving as a skybridge.

Image: © Trahan Architects

Exterior LED screens installed on its facade will broadcast scenes of America’s urban and natural landscapes. The project reuses steel, HVAC systems, and tensile fabric used in structures o...

Coldefy and Carlo Ratti Associati unveil France’s pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka behind curtain facade

2024-01-12T14:46:00-05:00

A team comprising Coldefy and Carlo Ratti Associati has unveiled their design for France’s national pavilion at World Expo Osaka 2025.

Titled ‘Theatrum Naturae,’ meaning ‘Theatre of Nature,’ the pavilion is inspired by France’s natural landscapes, with a “looping narrative path” that suggests “new entanglements between humans and other forms of life in our cities.”

Image credit: Coldefy and Carlo Ratti Associati

The pavilion features a single pathway that guides visitors through three experiences: Ascent, Discovery of Nature, and Return to the Ground. The experience begins with a staircase that winds to form an observation balcony. The staircase weaves in and out of the pavilion’s porous curtain facade, offering views of the building’s interior before culminating at a heavily vegetated terrace.

Image credit: Coldefy and Carlo Ratti Associati

“The French Pavilion invites visitors to enter the theater of life,” said Coldefy founding partner Thomas Coldefy about the scheme. “Both actors...

Zaha Hadid Architects designs Ukrainian Expo 2030 master plan with demountable and redeployable pavilions

2022-12-06T11:48:00-05:00

Zaha Hadid Architects has published details of its proposed master plan for the Odesa Expo 2030 bid. In seeking to secure the Expo 2030 contract for the southern Ukrainian city, the design team has presented a scheme composed of “demountable” and “redeployable” pavilions after the event has concluded.

Image credit: Zaha Hadid Architects

“Future development in Ukraine will see a fundamental transformation of the country’s economy towards energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies,” the team said. “Zaha Hadid Architects’ design for ODESA EXPO 2030 targets the effective re-use of all facilities after the exhibition has closed, a challenge that all Expos share with major public events the world over; creating an Expo of the future where nothing is wasted.”

Image credit: JK Lab

Located on former farmland close to the city center, the proposed expo site is anchored by a main axis that will provide access to a series of national pavilions toward the south and a coastal eco park to the nor...

Expo of biomaterial structures populates University of Virginia campus, created by architecture students and scholars

2022-04-11T09:00:00-04:00

The University of Virginia (UVA) campus has become the showground for an array of creative structures built from natural materials. The Biomaterial Building Exposition (Bio-Build Expo for short) was organized by the university’s architecture school and showcases the possibilities of organic, bio-based materials including salvaged lumber and fungal structures.

Penn State researchers Benay Gürsoy (assistant architecture professor) and Ali Ghazvinian (PhD candidate) collaborated with Arman Khalilbeigi and Esmaeil Mottaghi from Paragen Creative Studio to design a spatial structure made from mycelium blocks. Photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications. Photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications

The exhibition, and the projects featured within it, were created by a combination of UVA students, visiting scholars, and biomedical engineering researchers, led by UVA assistant architecture professors Katie MacDonald and Kyle Schumann. “It is both old-school and new-school,” MacDona...

Santiago Calatrava-designed UAE and Qatar pavilions highlight Expo 2020 Dubai's grand opening

2021-10-01T15:23:00-04:00

Two neighboring Gulf states are taking center stage at the newly opened Expo 2020 Dubai thanks to a pair of pavilions from Santiago Calatrava.

The Spanish architect, who used to have an office in Doha, currently operates out of Dubai and said he was “thrilled” by the honor of being asked to design structures for the nations that he has come to view as a second home.

Qatar Pavilion © Palladium Photodesign - Oliver Schuh + Barbara Burg

Inspired by the crossed swords image embedded in the Qatari coat of arms, Calatrava’s curvilinear contribution uses the metaphor of a dhow to convey the movement and progress of a country eager to showcase its liberalized outlook to the world.

Qatar Pavilion © Palladium Photodesign - Oliver Schuh + Barbara Burg

The 960-square-meter (10,333-square-foot) structure plays host to immersive exhibitions that highlight the country’s history and ambitious 21st-century development goals.

UAE Pavilion © Palladium Photodesign - Oliver Schuh + Barbara Burg

Calatrava...

Es Devlin's UK pavilion is unveiled as the Expo 2020 Dubai officially kicks off

2021-09-30T12:26:00-04:00

Lauded as one of the “must-see” highlights at this year’s Expo 2020 Dubai, the entry from the United Kingdom stands above the crowd thanks to a unique collaborative design from London-based artist and designer Es Devlin.

Photo © Alin Constantin Photography

The 20-meter (65.5-foot) conical CLT structure will host a program that highlights advancements in artificial intelligence, sustainable food, fashion, and other technologies relating to the Expo’s theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.” The pavilion also includes an interactive feature, inspired by Stephen Hawking, that will transcribe and then broadcast user-aggregated messages into space using machine learning technology.

Photo © Alin Constantin Photography

Devlin, who, in the past, has collaborated with luminaries like Bjarke Ingels and Benedict Cumberbatch, and who was responsible for the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony Union Jack set design, came to view the pavilion as a showcase for not only technology and com...

MVRDV's Dutch Expo 2000 Pavilion may receive a second life after all

2020-07-10T14:18:00-04:00

Anyone remember MVRDV's Dutch Pavilion at the 2000 World Expo in Hanover, Germany? With its six layers of distinct Dutch landscapes stacked into one compact tower, the highly conceptual attraction was an instant audience favorite and a seminal early project in the studio's history.

Since then, nearly two decades have passed, and while MVRDV has grown into an established design force, the neglected, fenced-off structure has fallen into severe disrepair. There may be new hope on the horizon for the former pavilion though, as the Rotterdam-based architects just revealed designs for Expo Pavilion 2.0: a major conversion into a co-working office building surrounded by new a housing and mixed-use development.

"The current project maintains this 'stacked landscape' concept, renovating the existing building and adding two stepped buildings on the perimeter of the original site," explains MVRDV's description of the planned transformation.

"The renovated pavilion will house co-workin...

Expo 2020 Dubai: one-year postponement confirmed

2020-05-26T17:42:00-04:00

It's official: Expo 2020 Dubai will be postponed by one year. After the UAE government asked for a delay last month, a majority of the Bureau International des Expositions member states now voted in favor of the proposal, officially confirming the new start date of October 1, 2021 and end date of March 31, 2022.

Previously on Archinect: Adrian Smith+Gordon Gill unveils Al Wasl Plaza scheme for Dubai Expo 2020. Image: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture..

"We welcome the decision of BIE Member States to support the delay Expo 2020 Dubai by one year," said the Chairman of the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, in response to the BIE announcement. "We are thankful to Member States for their continued commitment to contributing to a World Expo in Dubai that will play a pivotal role in shaping our post-pandemic world at a time when it will be most needed."

Previously on Archinect: Asif Khan-designed portals for Expo 2020 Dubai create celestial gateway...

New dates proposed for Expo 2020 Dubai

2020-04-06T21:17:00-04:00

The UAE has officially proposed that the World Expo 2020 Dubai be moved. They have put forward a potential start date of October 1, 2021, in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The request was made in a letter addressed to Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, secretary general of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).

After hinting at a potential one-year delay of the Expo 2020 Dubai last week in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE government has now reportedly proposed the new start date of October 1, 2021 and end date of March 31, 2022. The Bureau International des Expositions confirmed that it would be discussing the request at the upcoming BIE Executive Committee meeting on April 21.

Expo 2020 Dubai hinted at potential delay of the event in a message released on March 31

The central Al Wasl Plaza at the Dubai expo grounds was designed by Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture and is surrounded by major thematic pavilions envisioned by BIG, Foster + Partners, and Grimshaw. In charge of the expo site master plan were HOK, along with Populous and Arup. Asif Khan designed the Expo Entry Portals which were unveiled recently.

Asif Khan-designed portals for Expo 2020 Dubai create celestial gateways for visitors

2020-02-11T11:15:00-05:00

London-based Asif Khan as designed the Expo Entry Portals for Expo 2020 Dubai. Drawing inspiration from the latticework present in the traditional "mashrabiya" among Arabic dwellings, the three portals are crafted entirely from intertwined lightweight carbon fiber composite and sit defiantly upon the open landscape. Measuring 21 meters high by 30 meters long, the portals were developed over the course of a three-year iterative design process in collaboration with an aircraft engineer and a manufacturer specializing in large format carbon composite.

Of the project, Asif Khan said: "Designing the Public Realm for Expo 2020 Dubai is a seminal moment for my practice; each aspect of the design invites visitors to immerse themselves in shared Islamic culture, art and language in dialogue with the future spirit of Expo. As visitors explore the many facets of the Public Realm designs, from the Expo Entry Portals to the seating I made with Lara Captan, I hope it leaves them with an unforgett...

Adrian Smith+Gordon Gill unveils Al Wasl Plaza scheme for Dubai Expo 2020

2017-04-26T20:07:00-04:00

After securing the commission in a fierce competition, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture revealed their design of the Al Wasl Plaza for the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. As the Expo's last major design element to be finalized, AS+GG's building will stand among other major pavilions designed by Foster + Partners, Grimshaw, BIG, and Santiago Calatrava's falcon-like UAE Pavilion. Back in 2013, AS+GG had the winning scheme for the 2017 Astana World Expo site.

According to the architects, Al Wasl Plaza is named after a historical reference to Dubai and also translates to “connection”, pertaining to the Expo's overall “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” theme.

Al Wasl Plaza will be a central event hub at the heart of the 4.38-square kilometer Expo site that is being masterplanned by HOK, Populous and Arup. It'll also connect the three sub-thematic districts, “Opportunity”, “Sustainability”, and “Mobility” — whose pavilions are being designed by BIG, Grimshaw, and Foster + Partners, r...

The now-open Milan Expo U.S. pavilion salutes to the future of food, the American way

2015-05-06T13:17:00-04:00

Since breaking ground last summer, the U.S. Pavilion -- titled “American Food 2.0: United to Feed the Planet" -- has opened to the public at the Milan Expo 2015, which is now in its first week. The U.S. joins the more than 140 participating countries that prepared exhibitions and pavilions that respond to the Expo's overall theme of "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life", which addresses the global issue of food security, access, and the ideal goal to nutritiously feeding more than 9 billion people by 2050.

Designed by New York-based Biber Architects, the pavilion puts on display America's pivotal role in the future of food that emphasizes "openness, transparency and accessibility" in an exhibition designed by Thinc Design. The open barn-inspired structure includes a harvestable hydroponic vertical farm and "uniquely American" (if not consumerist-enticing) features like an expansive boardwalk and a series of food trucks.

Check out photos of the fully constructed pavilion and more detai...

Identity Parade: The USA Pavilion and its Neighbors at Expo Milano 2015

2015-04-28T18:01:00-04:00

James Biber can see Russia from his roof. Mr. Biber, the architect of the USA Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015, the world’s fair that is racing to meet its opening date on Friday, also has a good view of Kuwait next door and Iran across the street. “It’s really a kind of identity parade,” Mr. Biber, 62, said about the jumble. [...] “It’s every nation attempting to express itself in a building. It is the very best and very worst of design you’re going to see in its concentrated form.”

Previously:

Los Angeles envisions the first "decentralized" World's Fair (yes, including Hyperloop)

2015-04-17T19:51:00-04:00

A group of venture capitalists, architects, engineers, and marketing gurus, under the name Los Angeles World's Fair (LAWF), are brewing plans for a two-year fair showing off the technology and culture of the future—including a Hyperloop, “3D-printed gourmet delicacies,” and self-driving cars. Theme: "The Connected City." Right now, they're trying to pull together $100,000 on Indiegogo to support economic and architectural feasibility studies for their plans [...].

Visit (and support if you're so inclined) the initiative's Indiegogo campaign here.

Jacques Herzog calls 2015 Milan Expo a wasted opportunity to reinvent the World's Fair

2015-04-02T20:56:00-04:00

'The content of the exhibitions should make the countries look different, not the size of their pavilions. Also we felt that this expo would be exactly the right place to start focusing on content, because it simply seems embarrassing to address this very important topic and at the same time built enormous, dramatically curved pavilions with facades in wavy plastic or with spectacular waterfalls or whatever.' - Jacques Herzog

In a recent interview with Berlin-based architecture magazine Uncube, Jacques Herzog dishes in on why he ditched the 2015 Milan Expo back in 2011, along with the rest of the masterplanning team that included Stefano Boeri, William McDonough, Ricky Burdett, and Herzog's own firm Herzog & de Meuron. In the interview, Herzog believes the Expo organizers weren't "powerful or courageous enough" to convince their own organization to support their "radically new" content-focused master plan in an attempt to redesign the world exhibition, as opposed to the traditional model of showcasing national pavilions. With the Milan Expo coming up in May, Herzog expects it to be yet another "vanity fair".

You can find some of the Milan Expo pavilion proposals here.

h/t constructionweekonline

Keep China's Expo pavilions "weird"

2015-01-26T13:04:00-05:00

For six months starting on May 1st, Milan is hosting the World Expo, which has been held every five years since 1851 as a showcase for human progress. [...] Of the 53 countries constructing pavilions, China is building not one, but five. [...] Like many pavilions in the Expo, the designs of the Chinese-sponsored buildings are nothing if not adventurous—even though president Xi Jinping has called for an end to “weird architecture” [...].

Upcoming IIDEXCanada 2014 adds Gehry Partners’ David Mirvish + David Nam as keynote speakers

2014-11-19T15:48:00-05:00

IIDEXCANADA is almost here! Canada's national architecture and design expo and conference will be celebrating its 30th anniversary at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on December 3-4. The two-day event is a great opportunity to network, exchange ideas, and socialize with over 20,000 fellow attendees. Over 350 exhibitors, more than 50 accredited seminars, and special feature exhibitions on multiple disciplines in the architecture and design community will be featured this year.

It's almost a lineup of Davids for the 2014 keynote speakers. Joining David Rockwell and Daniel Libeskind are David Mirvish and David Nam of Gehry Partners. Mirvish and Nam will be in conversation with Globe and Mail Publisher and CEO Phillip Crawley about Mirvish's new development, Mirvish + Gehry Toronto.

Read more about IIDEXCANADA and how to register over on Bustler.

IIDEXCanada 2014 expo to feature David Rockwell and Daniel Libeskind as keynote speakers

2014-09-03T17:43:00-04:00

IIDEXCanada, the country's national architecture and design expo and conference, will be celebrating its 30th anniversary at the Metro Toronto Convention Center, North Building on December 3-4.

The two-day event will include over 350 exhibitors, over 50 accredited seminars, and special feature exhibitions on multiple disciplines in the architecture and design community -- making the expo a great big opportunity to network, exchange ideas, and socialize. Another thing to make note of: David Rockwell and Daniel Libeskind are this year's keynote speakers.

"Attendees include professionals from the fields of interior design, architecture, construction, project management, property management, facility management, real estate, development, lighting, healthcare, hospitality, institutional, education, workplace, landscape, retail, industrial, textile and materials. Our 350 exhibitors feature products and services in the same fields...The event embodies all areas of design, real estate and con...

EXPO 2015 LATVIA Pavilion Proposal

2014-06-26T10:46:00-04:00

The pavilion offers an open space towards the world where, like apiary ecosystem, people have an opportunity for effective and natural cultural exchange, socializing and cognition of Latvian values.

EXPO 2015 LATVIA Pavilion Proposal

The pavilion offers an open space towards the world where, like apiary ecosystem, people have an opportunity for effective and natural cultural exchange, socializing and cognition of Latvian values.

The pavilion consists of three basic elements: The interior of the cell, open outdoor space and its unifying "natural channel". The interaction of these elements form a continuous story, where every visitor finds Latvian value, which is close himself.

The pavilion is singing Apiary - a symphony of natural sounds in every cell, but the roof stage used for artist performances.

The interior shaped like a hive, where each cell displays the Latvian natural ecosystems - the sea, forest, freshwater, marshes, meadows and land. Each cell has a singing - the sound of according ecosystem - winds, trees, waves, birds - a special symphony composed by the nature. Interactive digital horizon allows you to explore the Latvian culture, nature and traditions of food synergy....

Dubai chosen for World Expo 2020 with HOK-led master plan

2013-12-05T18:48:00-05:00

Dubai won the bid to host the World Expo 2020, being the first Middle Eastern city selected in the Expo's 160-year history. HOK, in partnership with Populous and Arup, led the design team that developed the master plan, themed "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future." Their proposal won against those from Brazil, Russia, and Turkey. The 1,082-acre (438-hectare) Expo site is equidistant from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, next to the new Al Maktoum International Airport and near the Jebel Ali Port.

Images: HOK

Kazakhstan’s Astana World Expo 2017 Competition Attracts Big International Names

2013-08-26T21:36:00-04:00

It's one step closer to finding the best design for the International Specialized Exposition (EXPO) 2017 exhibition site in Astana, Kazakhstan—the country's first world fair. For starters, some of the final designs include COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, UNStudio, Snøhetta, and Zaha Hadid Architects.

UPDATE: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill wins Kazakhstan Astana World Expo 2017 competition

schmidt hammer lassen Breaks Ground on Green Valley Project in Shanghai

2013-06-03T14:33:00-04:00

Danish schmidt hammer lassen architects together with local architects East China Architecture and Design Institute, and Shanghai Expo Construction Development Company last week celebrated the ground breaking for, and start of construction of, the new Green Valley project on the site of the former 2010 Shanghai Expo.

Architectural Remnants Of World's Fairs Passed

2012-11-15T18:58:00-05:00

"Some of the most important architects of the 19th and 20th centuries were commissioned to construct fair pavilions, dazzling, unusual structures incorporating the most cutting-edge materials and engineering prowess possible at the time," Doskow writes in an artist statement. "Among them are McKim, Mead and White, Louis Sullivan, Gustave Eiffel, Le Corbusier, Ando, Mies van der Rohe and the landscaping of Frederick Law Olmsted."

MVRDV’s Almere Plan Wins Floriade 2022 Competition

2012-09-25T14:32:00-04:00

The Dutch city of Almere has won the bid for the Floriade 2022 and will host the prestigious world horticultural expo in the year 2022. The exposition takes place once every ten years in the Netherlands and is currently ending in Venlo. The MVRDV-designed plan for Almere seeks to be not a temporary expo site but a lasting green Cité Idéale as an extension to the existing city center.

The Almere/MVRDV concept beat out fierce competition from Boskoop with OMA/Rem Koolhaas, Groningen with West 8, and Amsterdam Bijlmer with MTD Landscape Architect.

ONE OCEAN, soma’s Thematic Pavilion for the 2012 EXPO Opens in Yeosu, Korea

2012-05-10T14:44:00-04:00

The Thematic Pavilion “ONE OCEAN“ for the 2012 EXPO in Yeosu, South Korea [...] is scheduled to open later this week, May 12. The pavilion, a permanent building and one of the major facilities for the Yeosu EXPO, was designed by Austrian firm soma who won the international competition for the assignment back in 2009. The pavilion's exhibitions will give the visitors overview and introduction to the EXPO’s theme, The Living Ocean and Coast.

Previously in the Archinect News: Construction Photos of soma’s Thematic Yeosu EXPO Pavilion (includes a video animation of the bionic kinetic facade).

Construction Photos of soma’s Thematic Yeosu EXPO Pavilion

2012-03-09T19:54:00-05:00

Austrian firm soma is updating us on the latest construction status of their “One Ocean“ Thematic Pavilion for the EXPO 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea. The pavilion is a major and permanent building for the Expo and is scheduled for official opening on May 12, 2012. [...] The building will house two kinds of exhibitions that will give the visitors an introduction to the EXPO’s theme, The living Ocean and Coast.

Results for the Instant House Competition Are In

2011-04-20T17:34:14-04:00

For the latest Instant House competition, design for a public pavillion for the 2015 biennale in Milan, Italy, the results have been announced: The 1st Prize goes to Fabrizio Fiscaletti (Italy), the 2nd Prize to Iris Hilton (France), and the 3rd Prize has been given to Stefano Tropea (Italy), Mikel Martinez (Spain) and Thomas Dieben (The Netherlands).