Designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind the corporate pavilion for Vanke China seeks to explore the key issues relating to the Milan Expo 2015 theme, “feeding the planet, energy for life”.
The temporary pavilion concept incorporates three ideas drawn from Chinese culture related to food: the shi-tang, a traditional Chinese dining room; the landscape, the fundamental element for life; and the dragon, which is metaphorically linked to agriculture and sustenance.
Located on the east edge of the lake, the pavilion 800 square meters seems to rise from the east, forming a vertical landscape dynamic. The design features a geometric pattern sinuous flowing between inside and outside, while a large-scale, covered in warm gray concrete, guides visitors to the top level. A rooftop terrace with a garden offers views of the nearby lake.
The pavilion is lined with more than 4.000 red metallic tiles that Libeskind has designed with the Italian company Casalgrande Padana. The ceramic panels not only create a pattern of expression that looks like a dragon skin, but are highly self-cleaning. The three-dimensional surface is coated with a metallic color that changes depending on your point of view.
Inside the pavilion, visitors encounter an exhibition space with 200 screens mounted on a bamboo matrix.
