The World Expo 2017 will be taking place in Astana, Kazakhstan themed ‘Future Energy.’ Among the 45 shortlisted practices are some renowned architects like Zaha Hadid Architects, Coop Himmelb(l)au, UNStudio, Snøhetta, J. Mayer H., Safdie Architects, and many more big-name architecture firms. As the near future necessitates integration of alternate energy resources in buildings, the Expo will surely bring functional and interpretive concepts of energy use.
Though the World Expos have historically had varying durations, the Astana World Expo is to be from June to September 2017, and three million people are expected to visit. Astana, Kazakhstan will succeed the Milan Expo 2015 themed ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,’ and will precede the 2020 World Expo with a soon-to-be-determined location and theme.
The 2020 World Expo candidate cities are İzmir, Turkey; Yekaterinburg, Russia; São Paulo, Brazil; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Zaha Hadid Architects has already been chosen as the architect for İzmir, themed ‘New Routes to a Better World, Health for All,’ if it were to be chosen as the location.
The World Expos are a means for economic and social enhancement for the city, and bring to the world new architectural ideas. World Expo 2017 has already offered enlightening concepts from firms all over the world, each feeding the intellect with alternatives ways of building-making and energy use.
Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects, Coop Himmelb(l)au, UNStudio, Snøhetta, J. Mayer H., Safdie Architects
