Better City, Better Life
“balancity”, the title of the German contribution, is devoted to the subject of “balance” within the framework of the Expos’s motto “Better city, Better Life”. It looks at the equilibrium that the sustaining elements of a city must form in order to make it a place worth living in. At first sight, this balance can be seen in the pavilion – in its balance between the separate construction elements. When looked at separately, they seem unstable. As an ensemble, they hold each other in perfect equilibrium, expressing the architectural idea.
Germany the brand
Cantilevered polygonal elements form levitating exhibition spaces and landscapes that interlace with the interior. They reveal individual “layers of earth” and show a new energy source in the shape of solar wafers. The façade of the German Pavilion is covered by a transparent textile skin. The silver fabric with its subtle glow supports climate control, offering shade and reflecting up to 80 per cent of the solar radiation. The architecture integrates innovative and intelligent materials which can take on several functions and increase the building’s sustainability.
interactive sphere
A journey shows ideas and solutions concerning urban challenges „Made in Germany“. The highlight is a 9-min. interactive show for 600 people. Together they can set a huge sphere fitted with more than 400,000 LEDs in motion by acoustic assessment of the audience´s sound. Through the images on the sphere visitors themselves build a city for the future. The interactive sphere is an unusual combination of engineering achievement and playful experience.
Overall Responsibility:
German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, Bonn
Organisation and Operation:
Koelnmesse International GmbH, Cologne
Design, planning and realization:
Consortium German Pavilion Shanghai
General planning contractors and architects:
Schmidhuber + Kaindl GmbH, Munich
Architectural design:
SCHMIDHUBER, München
Exhibition:
Milla and Partner GmbH, Stuttgart
Construction: NUSSLI (Germany), Roth
Local partner:
he playze, Shanghai
Architectural Lighting Design: E³ Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, Altenbeken
Photographer:
Andreas Keller, Altdorf
