China Pavilion for Milano Expo | Studio Link-Arc
A collaborative effort by New York firm Studio Link-Arc and a team from Tsinghua University, the China Pavilion for Milano Expo 2015 takes on the theme “The Land of Hope.” The design features a floating undulating roof and a field of crops to capture the vision of a cloud hovering over a land of hope.
The wave-like roof was derived by merging the profile of a city skyline on the building’s north side with the profile of a landscape on the southern side expressing the idea of nature and the city exiting in harmony. Arching wooden frames, reminiscent of the ‘raised-beam’ system found in traditional Chinese architecture, are the main structural component for the roof. Attached to these frames are large bamboo panels made to look like shingles or terracotta tiles also used in Chinese construction that help shade the public spaces below.
The field of wheat underneath the roof was inspired by China’s agarian past. This feature transitions into a multimedia interactive installation where a matrix of LED “stalks” mimic the form of the wheat while also displaying images. The LED exhibition is only one moment however in the field of spaces the China Pavilion has to offer as one journeys through the building.
According the designers, “The Pavilion’s full exhibition and cultural offerings are experienced as a sequence of spaces, beginning with an exterior waiting area in the landscape, leading to a themed exhibition space with interactive installations and cultural offerings from forty Chinese provinces.
After this, visitors are guided up a gently sloped public stair to a panoramic viewing platform above the LED matrix installation, after which they are guided into a multimedia space, which will feature a short film focused on returning home for the Spring Festival. This sequence concludes with visitors stepping outside onto a platform above the bamboo roof that enjoys expansive views of the Expo grounds.” 
By Kristin Hoover
