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Design of Italian Pavilion: Game "Shanghai" plus traditional city spirit

2009-12-25 14:58 BJT

Special Report: 2010 Shanghai Expo Countdown |

There is one sentence on Italy's official website for the Shanghai World Expo 2010, "Traditional style and spirit of Italian cities, innovative materials and energy conservation – Italy's image to Shanghai."

In order to exhibit a perfect pavilion for Italy, an innovative design competition was organized in Italy. Giampaolo Imbrighi's design proposal stood out from 65 others and was tentatively titled "City of Man." Under the design proposal, the Italian government will build their pavilion in an area of more than 6,000 square meters in the nearby Binjiang, Expo Park area In Shanghai.

Design of Italian Pavilion: Game "Shangha" plus traditional city spirit
Design of Italian Pavilion: Game "Shangha" plus traditional city spirit

60 year-old Imbrighi thinks that his design has three main characteristics. The first is the image, which he describes as a window to show the good spirit and quality of the Italian city life. The second is the role, which is to attract and astonish a large quantity of visitors during the six-month period of the Shanghai World Expo 2010. The last is the quality of construction, which integrates traditional building materials with innovative ones, and gives the pavilion eco-climate and ecological sustainability where conditions permit.

The design inspiration arises from the game "Shanghai"
The design inspiration arises from the game "Shanghai"

Design spirit equals the game "Shanghai" plus traditional spirit of Italian cities

No matter you believe in or not, the design inspiration came from a game called "Shanghai." It actually refers to the game Shanghai children play with sticks. Numerous sticks are scattered by children to form different combinations. The architecture was enlightened by the game, and plans to use functional modules which can be assembled freely to construct the pavilion. They can also be changed in shape just like the game sticks, and can be detached and assembled in a small scale.

Lanes, courtyards, alleys and plazas. All these elements are seen everywhere in traditional Italian cities. Before the Second World War, around 80 percent of the population lived in places with these characteristics. The historical urban layout was seen not only in many traditional Italian cities but also in some ancient suburban towns. In a word, the layout is found everywhere in Italy. The design proposal for the "City of Man" inherited the traditional style, aiming to recall the past.

Imbrighi disclosed, "We hope to find a way to integrate the spirit and image of the traditional urban layout of Italy with the Chinese culture and then interpret it with a new point of view. When demonstrating the contemporary cultural value of Italy, we also considered the elements of the host country. Italy hopes to convey their desire of returning to the traditional living environments through City of Man and construct it with humanistic space design and the use of the innovative materials, which also is our understanding of a 'better city, better life,' theme of the Shanghai World Expo 2010."

 

Translated by LOTO

Editor: Shi Taoyang | Source: CCTV.com