Expo 2015 Awards: Elements and Details

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expo awards

USA Pavilion (Vertical Farm)
Client: Friends of the USA Pavilion Milan 2015
Design: Biber Architects; Thinc Design
Fabrication: Nussli Group

PHOTOs: Nussli Group

Expo 2015 Awards:
Elements & Details

Outside the USA Pavilion, a giant stylized American flag promises "American Food 2.0," and instantly delivers on that nourishing pledge with the 7,200-square-foot Vertical Farm. Figuratively inspired by the "amber waves of grain" exalted in the song "America the Beautiful," the world's largest vertical farm lines the pavilion's east facade, running nearly the length of a football field. Planted in the partition, which resembles a farmer's field tilted 90 degrees, are 42 types of vegetables, grains, herbs, and fruits, ranging from wheat, mint, and strawberries to Merlot lettuce.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
"This element succeeds in so many ways. It adds a kinetic lure to the pavilion, reinforces the expo theme, and showcases a possible solution to global hunger."

The plants are rooted in 1,494 ZipGrow hydroponic modules made of recycled plastic, which move outward during the day to supply the plants with the maximum amount of sunshine, while simultaneously tempering the amount of light that passes into the building behind them. Measuring 4.3 feet high, the ZipGrow modules are hung on a series of movable frames, and watered via a drip-irrigation system. "This element succeeds in so many ways," said one judge. "It adds a kinetic lure to the pavilion, it reinforces the expo theme, and it showcases a possible solution to global hunger.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Brazil Pavilion (The Net)

Brazil Pavilion (The Net)
Client: Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil)
Design: Studio Arthur Casas

PHOTOS: Fernando Guerra

Symbolizing the supple and dispersed network present in every aspect of Brazil's pluralistic society, the South American country stretched an immense interactive net that connected its pavilion's three floors, creating a "sea" visitors could walk on. Strung up between several structural columns, the rope canopy holds up to 300 visitors at a time who hike across the tightly webbed, slightly wobbling terrain. While some walked slowly, and others bounced gently, the guests' collective movements activate sensors that vary the lights and modify the colors around them, suggesting how our combined efforts can alter our environment for the better. Porous and resilient, the net is part public square, part leisure activity, a fitting metaphor for the vast country of rainforests and carnivale.

Kuwait Pavilion (Dhow Sails)

Kuwait Pavilion (Dhow Sails)
Client: Ministry of Information of the State of Kuwait
Design: Studio Italo Rota; Steiner Sarnen Schweiz AG
Fabrication: Nussli Group

photos: Nussli Group

Inspired by the dhow, a traditional wooden vessel that cruised the Red Sea and Indian Ocean laden with food and goods over the centuries, the outside of the Kuwait Pavilion looks like a boat ready to navigate the same briny depths as Sinbad. To passersby, the pavilion presents itself as a stylized dhow, with a set of massive sails, seemingly reimagined and rearranged by Christo and a Cubist sailor. Set at an angle of 45 degrees to a mast, the triangular sails sometimes flap gently in the wind, and create the illusion that the pavilion is ready to cast off for exotic ports of call. At night, the sails transform into a dazzling light show, courtesy of dramatic, color-changing illumination.