UK Pavilion “Leaks” – Expo Milan 2015

UK Pavilion “Leaks” – Expo Milan 2015  

Although the UK Pavilion at the 2015 World Expo in Milan can be considered sort of “everybody’s darling”, since it seems to be a pavilion upon which all websites agree as being one of the best, behind one of the most popular photos by photographer Laurian Ghinitoiu is documenting a simple design mistake – the drainage is either missing or not able to handle a light summer rain. The water needs to be wiped outside the edge, dropping randomly towards the ground-floor.

On the opening day (1^st of May) the visitors had to stay in line and waiting the rain to stop, in order to wipe the floor and get permission to enter inside the pavilion, since a thin layer of water was covering the glass floor, creating a very slippery surface. Although this may seem like a minor technicality, it could be a potential nightmare for the organizers – someone could be getting injured due to such a problem.

However, the pavilion is still one of my personal favorites, with its unique aesthetic approach and original concept, while determining me to ask – are design and execution mistakes things we should overlook in the spirit of greater architecture, or should we be more aware of every detail of our concepts?