dutch pavilion at shanghai world expo 2010

the dutch pavilion at shanghai expo 2010 image © designboom

the dutch pavilion for shanghai expo 2010 has been designed by architect john kormeling. the 5,000-square-meter structure called ‘happy street’, consists of twenty-six small houses elevated along the expo’s main pedestrian strip that curves in a figure eight – a lucky number in china. happy street is mixed with different types of buildings like a house, a shop, a factory, an office, a farm, a petrol station, a sport field, a garage, forms the condition for a social life. the main building is a yellow colored tulip – a symbol of the netherlands.

each house explore themes such as energy, water, space and other urban issues. in response to the chinese expo theme ‘better city, better life’ the sub-themes of the design include:

– urban cultural diversity – urban economic growth and prosperity – innovation in science and technology in urban contexts – re-modelling urban communities

image © designboom

the main building – a tulip image © designboom

view around the pavilion image © designboom

yellow and red umbrellas line the paths image © designboom

view of the british pavilion image © designboom

the back of ‘happy street’ image © designboom

image © designboom

in the evening image © designboom

image © designboom

at night image © designboom

image © designboom

view of the various houses image © designboom

view of the various houses image © designboom

image © designboom

guests walk along ‘happy street’ image © designboom