YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
The main characteristics of the cities of the future will be diversity and equilibrium - but they must not be allowed to become interchangeable. It is through the interaction of these aspects that the individual urban quality of life in and the life force of a city are shaped. Although it is thus important to ensure that diversity is preserved, innovation and technological progress should not be left aside. And it is this quite distinctive and unique outlook that Germany intends to actively transpose into practice over the long term. The German contribution to the theme of EXPO 2010 - “Better City, Better Life” - takes the form of its ‘balancity’ pavilion, a symbolic city that is counterpoised between renewal and preservation, innovation and tradition, the urban and natural worlds, society and the individual, work and recreation, and between globalisation and national identity.
The underlying concept behind balancity is immediately apparent from its architecture. A city itself is a concrete expression of the way that a balance can be struck between diversity and compactness and consists of different historical layers, spaces, functions and environments. The transformation that has occurred within industry, with the trend away from production to the provision of services, has meant that extensive former factory and warehouse sites have become available to the public sphere, and have been transformed into attractive open space and residential amenities. The natural world, the green landscape, is beginning to invade the urban setting. The former antithesis of town and country has been turned into an organic togetherness within the context of contemporary urban planning in Europe. The growing awareness of the need for sustainable, energy-efficient lifestyle concepts has resulted in an integration of nature in urban areas and an anchoring of this concept within architectural thinking. The design of the German Pavilion is that of a dynamic, urban organism, an accessible three-dimensional sculpture that communicates the diversity of urban and rural life in Germany.
The pavilion consists of four large block structures that represent the interplay between the forces of supporting and loading, bearing and reclining. Considered individually, each structure seems close to losing its balance; it is only through their interaction that the structures achieve stable equilibrium. This gives architectural voice to the basic concept behind balancity. The structures form a large roof that provides visitors with shade and protects them from rain as they wander through the covered areas. Created is an intriguing interplay between external and internal spaces, light and shadow, artificial and natural, and town and countryside.
Visitors to balancity are taken on a journey through a city of ideas. They move as they would in a real city - on foot, on moving walkways and escalators - through variously designed urban spaces, each representing a different subject: starting from the harbour, they pass through garden and park, a town planning office and a factory, depot, studio and city centre until they reach the energy source, the powerhouse of the city.
The import of the German Pavilion is that it can be an enjoyable experience to live in a city that is in balance - where renewal and preservation, innovation and tradition, city and nature, society and individual, work and recreation are in harmony.
A journey through a city of ideas
The urban periphery: Here, selected examples of environmentally-friendly and sustainable urban development projects in Germany are on display. The Brandis/Waldpolenz Solar Park, one of the largest solar power stations in the world, is a trailblazing instance of how to generate renewable energy, while the Black Forest is the perfect example of the harmonisation of the opportunities provided by an urban-proximate recreational amenity with the needs of a sustainably operated forestry industry.
The harbour: The tunnel leads to a deep-blue, underwater space where visitors hear sounds produced by water, and experience the effects created by bubbles and the shimmer of reflections. An escalator conveys them to above the surface of the water where they enter a fascinating, futuristic urban landscape: the port of Hamburg under a blue sky, with the cries of seagulls and noise of people. Characteristic sounds of the working port and a spectacular panorama showing sustainable flagship projects, such as the Elbphilharmonie, the Science Center and the Unilever building, help the visitors immerse themselves in the atmosphere of balancity. It is not just about renewal here, but also about preservation, about the creation of something new on the foundations of tradition.
The planning office: Next there emerges from an urban skyline a large space containing oversized plans, models and sketches that protrude from walls and floor. The focus here is on innovative, sustainable urban planning, in which the urban infrastructure is treated as a living process. Examples include Hamburg’s HafenCity as Europe’s largest inner city urban project based on sustainable concepts, the ‘Solar Settlement’ on the Schlierberg in Freiburg with its ‘energy surplus’ houses and projects for the conversion of large residential estates, demonstrating how targeted renaturalization and landscape planning can be used to revitalise outdated apartment block developments. The concept of social sustainability is also given expression in this space: the multigenerational housing project shows how people from different backgrounds and from different generations can communicate and profit from each other.
The garden: The garden of balancity radiates energy, power and vitality. The room is full of images, sounds and three-dimensional objects that articulate the importance of private green spaces and the opportunities these provide for relaxation among the pulsating life of a modern metropolis. There are scent stations that reproduce the odours of flowers and barbecues to make visitors feel they are in a garden in Germany. There are examples of traditional German forms of the garden, such as the allotment and the school garden, but also of more recent integration projects, such as the intercultural garden. Children are encouraged to enter the next room using a large slide.
The depot: A huge room whose colour scheme is dominated by warm, wood tones is the next stop for the visitors. High-rack shelf-like structures that reach to the ceiling are filled with innovative products, things designed to improve the quality of city life. There is much here that will grab the attention of the younger visitors: they can discover inventive new toys created by leading German manufacturers, such as Playmobil and fischertechnik, and the science experimentation box games produced by Kosmos. From here, visitors move into a room dominated by technology - the factory.
The park: Following the activity and bustle in the factory is a room bathed in natural daylight that radiates peace and quiet. Suspended from an inverted meadow are ‘viewing bells’ providing 360° panoramic perspectives of urban open spaces located within German cities. Park landscapes from throughout Germany are represented, including the Englischer Garten in Munich, the Wilhelma botanical garden in Stuttgart, the Aqua Magica landscape park in Bad Oeynhausen and the St. Johanniskloster Bibelgarten in Schleswig. At the far end of the room are ‘dream balls’ within which visitors can discover unique and inimitable stories.
The city centre: This is the hub of balancity; it is here that its inhabitants meet. It is a space for mutual experiences, for communication and the free expression of opinions. All kinds of different cultures and generations come together here, make eye contact and take part in shared activities. It is also the venue for art and culture. The city with its inhabitants and their encounters becomes a diverse, lively and dynamic metropolis, in which life is an entertaining experience.
The forum: Mutual understanding and the ability to laugh together, learn from each other and work together to find solutions for the future - these are the essential foundations of successful collaboration. The forum in balancity represents the link between Germany and China and stands for dialogue and intercultural exchange. Here the theme is “Germany and China - towards the future together”. On show are various examples of how ideas and input provided by individuals can help conserve energy and improve the quality of life in the urban environment.
The energy source: This is where the energy needed to sustain the city is generated. The energy source, the wellspring of power and vitality, is the heart of balancity and is the highlight of the German Pavilion. But it is the visitors themselves who are the source of this energy. An equilibrium of the ideas, thoughts and inspirations of the various individuals is created, resulting in a city in balance.
Visitors enter an impressive room throbbing with energy and filled with thrilling light effects, where they disperse to three viewing galleries. From the galleries, their gaze is directed towards the central element of the room - a sphere. This has a diameter of 3 metres and a surface covered with some 400,000 LEDs. These display images, colours and forms during the 7-minute show. They represent the various contributions from Germany to the EXPO theme “Better City, Better Life”. With the aid of the visual world of diversity and contradiction generated by the sphere, the visitors are enabled to construct their own city of the future, where everyone is content and everything has its place: a city that lives from its inconsistencies and provides diversity to enhance the quality of life of all its inhabitants. The sphere engenders a city in which renewal and preservation exist side-by-side, in which different cultures complement and supplement each other and the different generations are there to provide each other with help and support. It is made apparent how important it is to make a personal contribution towards the city of the future, that every individual counts and that only if we work together - in the strictest sense of the word - will we be able to achieve the changes necessary: www.expo2010-germany.com.
Sweden
Outside the Swedish pavilion there is a particularly striking attraction – a large play unit in Villa Villekulla style from Hags. The play unit outside the Swedish pavilion will be in place in Shanghai for all the six months of the world expo. The Swedish theme for the expo is technique, innovation and our way of living. The play unit is crowded with people all day, says Jörgen Svärd, Sales Manager at Hags. Many adults are also appealed by it and stop willingly by for a moment. There are also park benches where you can sit down for a few minutes’ rest. Sweden is the only one presenting activities also on the outside of the pavilion. The fact that the play unit is free to use is something that entices a lot of people. For Hags it's a fantastic privilege to take part in this expo, Jörgen says. It gives us a unique opportunity to present our products in China and we hope to develop our contacts in this country.
Images: www.expo2010-germany.com / © Yovohagrafie, German Pavilion,
Hags
