bioarch formosana: taipei flora expo pavilions

‘pavilion of life’ at the taipei international flora & horticulture expo by bioarch formosana in taipei, taiwan all images courtesy bioarch formosana

taiwanese architectural office bioarch formosana has designed and completed the build of a group of eco-friendly pavilions at this year’s taipei international gardening and horticulture exposition. located in shingsheng park, a municipal park with rich vegetation, the starting point of the design was to conserve as many existing trees on site as possible. another key aim during the development process was to approach building a large scale pavilion with the smallest carbon footprint possible, enforcing a cradle to cradle mentality into practice.

‘pavilion of life’, ‘pavilion of dreams’, and ‘pavilion of the future’ exhibits a wide variety of horticultural products and technologies as well as a number of different plant life from different climates. the green roof, which features a large array of 200 kwp solar panels, tilts down to the ground level to encourage visitors to walk on and explore the planted surface. sections of the facade utilize a system of weather proof plastic modules to vertically hold potted plants. these modules will be give away to local citizens who wish to green their own homes after the expo.

used plastic bottles are stacked and arranged in a series of thin metal cages to line an elevated walkway, separating the space as well as providing a visual effect from the wall of coloured caps. the wood used for the roof trusses and columns are all harvested from local forests less than 100 kilometers away from the site. to minimize on waste after the expo, they will be taken apart and auctioned off online for those who require wood for construction.

wooden promenade leading up to the green roof