| Germany Pavilion |
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Photos courtesy of Andreas Keller.
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| Theme: “Balancity: A City in Balance” |
Client: German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, Organisation and Operation: Koelnmesse International GmbH |
| Fabrication: Nussli GmbH; EWI Worldwide |
Design: Schmidhuber+Kaindl GmbH; Milla & Partner GmbH |
| Size: 64,584 square feet |
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Exterior Design: Called “Balancity” (a combination of the words “balance” and “city”), Germany’s pavilion represents its designers' belief that successful cities of the future will be abstract works of art balancing nature and technology, where opposing forces must work in unison. Consisting of four polygon-shaped structures connected together, each individual building is deliberately designed to look as if it might topple over if not for its neighboring edifice, thus literally embodying the idea of balance. Reacting to the amount of sunlight and the weather, the pavilion’s silver membrane changes its apperance throughout the day, from a clouded crystal to a translucent gauze.
Pavilion Summary: Guests step onto a moving walkway and emerge, moments later, in a deep-blue “underwater” room, surrounded by the sounds of water and the sights of air bubbles floating by. Ascending an escalator, they enter the Harbor, a stylized recreation of Hamburg, Germany’s revitalized waterfront, with seagulls soaring over a cloud-dotted sky. Following the Harbor, attendees move into the Planning Office, where oversized sketches and models jutting out from the floor depict urban infrastructure projects, such as converting old prefab homes into solar-powered houses.
In the Garden, nine wave-like sails imprinted with images of German greenery are suspended from the ceiling over visitors’ heads, while the comforting scents of flowers and barbeque tickle their noses. Refreshed, guests then explore the Factory. Here, in an industrial setting, a conveyor-belt-like system whizzes by overhead, transporting obscured objects — which intrigued visitors can later “X-ray” to find out what they actually are, and access informational videos about them. The Factory’s commotion gives way to the Park’s calm, where, under a canopy evocative of Dale Chihuly’s flower sculptures, guests bask in a cool breeze perfumed with aromatic flowers.
Attendees’ last stop is a 40-foot-tall exhibition hall containing the “source” of Balancity’s power: a 10-foot-wide, 1.2 ton, motion-activated metal sphere flecked with 400,000 LED lights. Guests activate the ball with their movements and voices; swinging back and forth like a pendulum, the sphere’s speed accelerates and colors intensify, then it gradually transforms into an image of the Earth out of which a seed representing hope emerges.
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