The pavilion consists of 15 prefabricated timber “trees”, which make up the structural, infrastructural and experiential frame-work for the building
Projects / Culture
Norway – Powered by Nature. Norway's pavilion for the Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China
Expo 2010 Shanghai is the first World Fair to adopt sustainable urban development as its theme: “Better City – Better Life”. The concept of the Norwegian pavilion, “Powered by Nature”, directly engages this challenge, emphasising several aspects of sustainability.
Architect: Helen & Hard
Published 05 Sep, 2010
The explosive urbanization that China is experiencing calls for an increased sensibility and consideration for both natural and human resources. The pavilion contributes to these issues with an architecture that facilitates social sustainability, healthy public recreational areas and environmentally friendly urban structures and infrastructures. The pavilion consists of 15 “trees”, prefabricated in timber, which create a sensory and multifunctional “forest”.
Each tree combines structure, skin, infrastructure (air-conditioning, water- and energy supply, lighting etc.), furniture, exhibition, playground and information display. The “tree” structure allows each component to be autonomous or combined with others. After the Expo, each of the “trees” can be easily dismantled and relocated elsewhere, to serve a number of uses: a park installation, playground, social meeting place etc.
The main structure is made from laminated timber. Each “tree” consists of a fabric roof, four “branches”, a “trunk” and “roots”. The components can be packed flat to make optimal use of space and transportation. A recently developed Chinese timber product, GluBam – Glue-laminated Bamboo, is used for secondary structures, the exhibitions and most of the surfaces in the pavilion. The roof of the pavilion is a four point membrane construction. The fabric shades against direct sunlight while admitting diffused light, thus saving energy for interior lighting.
The roots of the trees are shaped to give assosiations to four characteristic Norwegian landscapes: the coast, the forest, the fjords and the Arctic. The spatial characteristics and intrinsic qualities of these landscapes are the foundation of the design in the interior zones of the pavilion.