Today we saw a whopping nine pavilions, which was a good day's work considering we had to go through several security checkpoints before obtaining our press passes and making our way onto the Expo 2010 grounds. We topped off last night with a visit to the Cuban pavilion which serves the most heavenly mojitos (but by that we would have gladly drank about anything in a desperate attempt to rehydrate). Then we ate dinner at the Italian pavilion’s Caravaggio Restaurant (we both ordered pasta with duck ragout) before touring the exhibits and vignettes there that represent Italy. To say the pavilion is artful would be an understatement. The exterior incorporates the use of transparent concrete that emits specks of light at night. And the interior surprises, delights, and takes visitors’ breath away with everything from a pristinely lit room where terra-cotta-colored sculptures bathe in a pitch-black pond to a 40+-piece orchestra that defies gravity and resides on an interior wall.


Finally, we spent a few quiet moments at the U.K. pavilion. Affectionately known as the “Seed Cathedral,” the structure, designed by London-based Heatherwick Studio, is covered in 60,000 crystalline spines. Attendees first ascend an inclined path along one side of the pavilion. There, they encounter various “living maps” made of a moss-like plant grown into the shape of the United Kingdom’s capital cities. Later, they enter the inside of the Seed Cathedral, where they get their first up-close-and-personal look at the spines and realize that each contains one or more seeds embedded in its tip.


The seeds are from the Millennium Seed Bank Project. Based in West Sussex, U.K., the project is a sort of insurance policy for mankind, boasting seeds from more than a billion types of plants, and theoretically enabling humans to re-cultivate Earth in the event of a major catastrophe. Following their time inside the cave-like chamber — which is, by all means, an almost spiritual experience, likely responsible for the pavilion’s nickname — they descend down the opposite side of the structure alongside a river of plants, referencing Expo 2010’s “Better City, Better Life” theme, and discussing Green roofs and various sustainable architectural and urban-planning practices.


But our favorite part of the Seed Cathedral was the quiet expanse in front of the almost otherworldly structure. The pavilion is designed on what is intended to resemble crumpled gift wrap, as if the pavilion itself is a freshly opened present to the people of Shanghai. The edges of the gift wrap rise up on the sides, shutting out the chaos of the other pavilions and the 400,000 to 600,000 daily attendees — creating a quiet oasis where weary visitors sit down, relax, take naps, and enjoy the awe-inspiring view of the pavilion.


Now if only we could adjust to jet lag and sleep more than four hours without waking up and wondering where we are...

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