The Spore
Proposal for UK pavilion, Milano 2015
This proposal considers the unique characteristics of the UK in the context of the Expo’s theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.
Besides being an agriculturally abundant island, the UK is also a nation in which many cultural influences and ethnicities come together and bloom – therefore providing a fertile ground for an extremely varied food culture as well for cultural and intellectual diversity. This prolific heterogeneity is a driving force for innovation in a modern food and drinks sector, and we believe that the pavilion ought to represent this diversity and hunger for invention in a metaphorical manner.
The pavilion is subdivided into three distinct areas, all of which thematise the idea of modernity, variety and diversity:
The first part of the pavilion is an organic structure, resembling a “Spore”: a reproductive body that like a seed can produce a new plant. The multi-directional structure thereby symbolises the UK’s ever growing and blooming properties, which expands in many directions. The Expo visitors are encouraged to enter and immerse themselves into an organic system, which is also underlined by a series of interior spatial projections.
The second area is the indoor “food court”; a space that is intended to present modernity and innovation of the UK food industry and the social aspects of food in an open and modern way. The floor plan stimulates an organic people flow, in which the various stand units are dotted along the space, as well as conical openings for green spaces.
As this structure is entirely transparent, its translucence not only suggest lightness, calmness, and purity, but also symbolises a measure of inclusion and friendliness, as it does not wall off the inside from the outside public but invites them to look inside and visually experience the pavilion.
The third space is a recreational area and based on a ship deck – a homage to the UK’s longstanding history of exploration and seafaring, which brought many new culinary and cultural influences to the nation. This open space furthermore gives the visitor the opportunity to experience the Expo area from an elevated point of view and soak in the vista.
Architecture and Creative direction: Alia Ramadan
Déri design