Ephemerality versus Monumentality of World Expos Architecture

EPHEMERALITY VERSUS MONUMENTALITY OF THE EXPO ARCHITECTURE AND THE LEGACY IT CREATES

By Drashti Shroff Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree Bachelors of Architecture Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies

2021-2022

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Fig 1.0 Author’s representation of various monuments and ii remenants of World Expositions Source: Author

EPHEMERALITY VERSUS MONUMENTALITY OF THE EXPO ARCHITECTURE AND THE LEGACY IT CREATES

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CERTIFICATE This is to Certify that this Design Dissertation Titled

Ephemerality versus Monumentality of Expo Architecture and the legacy it creates is a Bonafide work of

Drashti Shroff and has been done under my Guidance.

Student

Guide

(seal)

Director

Date: v

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EPHEMERALITY VERSUS MONUMENTALITY OF THE EXPO ARCHITECTURE AND THE LEGACY IT CREATES Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree Bachelors of Architecture by DRASHTI SHROFF Roll No. 1775 Supervisor(s): Ainsley Lewis

Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (5th Year)

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APPROVAL SHEET Thesis Approval for Dissertation for B.Arch Thesis This thesis/dissertation/project report titled ‘Ephemerality Versus Monumentality Of The Expo Architecture And The Legacy It Creates’ by Drashti Shroff is approved for the Degree of Bachelors of Architecture Examiners: 1. .....................................

2. .....................................

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DECLARATION I, Drashti Shroff, declare that this written submission represent my ideas in my own words and where other’s ideas or words have been included. I have adequately cited and referenced the original sources. I also declare that I have adhered to all principles of academic honesty and integrity and have not misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any idea/data/fact/source in my submission. I understand that any violation of the above will be cause for disciplinary action by the Institute and can also evoke penal action from the sources which have thus not been properly cited.

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(Signature) ........................................................

(Name and Roll No.) .......................

(Date)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all my mentors and the people who have inspired me and strengthened my creative inclination towards architecture. This thesis is a reflection of the learnings I have gained at the Kamla Raheja Institute of Architecture. I am thankful to the faculty members, fellow peers at KRVIA, and for the extensive readings available at our library. I am thankful for the comprehensive articles available at the Bureau International des Expositions and to Anca Anghel from BIE. This research would not have been as comprehensive without the resolute support of my guide, Ainsley Lewis.

I appreciate all the valuable discussions we had which contributed to this research.

I would like to thank Raya Ani (FAIA, LEED AP), Design Director of RAW-NYC Architects for giving me the opportunity to work and explore the realm of temporary architecture. I have gained immense knowledge during my internship with her.

An extended thankful mention for my friends, Jash Vora, Vatsal Shah, Nikhita Hadnoorkar and all LGG friends for their invaluable inputs and motivation. Many thanks to Mohit Katke for providing important data.

The biggest thanks extended to my parents, Gaurang Shroff and Sangeeta Shroff for being my pillars of support and for encouraging and cheering me at every step. This thesis is dedicated to them. xiii

PREFACE World Expositions have intrigued me as a young student of architecture and the grandeur of these events has charmed me ever since I learnt of them. As architecture school began, I sharpened my knowledge of understanding Expos and by the end of the first year itself, I was sure of taking up World Expos as my thesis premise. Safe to say, I have stood by that decision even four years later and I’m glad to have this opportunity.

Initially, the vast scale and complexity of Expos fascinated me. Then rationally, I started questioning the sustainability aspects of it, on whether it is more wasteful than productive or truly as it claims to be sustainable? I felt that a lot more productive outcomes could be achieved at an event where the world comes together in one place. The Expos claim that solving pressing global issues is their main aim, but does that really bear fruit in the large picture? Well, perhaps the outcomes of the global discussions held at Expos are perceived differently by all. I had the chance to observe the build-ups of the Dubai Expo 2020 closely. Having interned at a Dubai based firm who has designed the Iraq Pavilion for the Expo, for 7 months, my curiosities on doubting the Expos on being a productive ground for solving urgent issues were satiated. Delving xiv

into this thesis research enabled me to build my knowledge on the architectonics and the versatility of spaces. It broadened my understanding of several materials, sustainability, and design aspects. With a critical understanding of the futuristic District 2020, I developed my interventions.

I have often been questioned on my interest in taking up the Expos as a thesis premise over Olympics or Commonwealth Games or Asian Games. The commonality is that these all are global-scale events, but the differences are way more. Expos run for a duration of 3-6 months, whereas sports evets are wrapped up in approximatly 2 weeks. The vast diversity of architectural displays, the purpose and aim of Expos, the ephemeral nature of the structures, the effects Expos have on the urban environment of the host country and many more such aspects differentiate Expos from sports events. These aspects have interested me and are also directly related to architecture in many aspects- be it the temporary pavilions or urban changes.

I hope this research volume serves as a memorable journey of reading and discovering more about the World Expositions, lined with my insights of the same.

Happy reading!

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ABSTRACT World Expos are large scale, flamboyant global events which recur and are held in various countries with universal themes. These are overlooked by the intergovernmental organization - The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) whose headquarters are in Paris. Architectural displays have been on the forefront of expositions since the first in 1851. The World Expos have celebrated inventions and achievements which have contributed to the development all around the world. There has been an evident shift in the Expo themes and this thesis would critically study how that has been reflected in the nature of the conduct of Expos. The thesis would also study the evolution of Expos over the years and how architecture has played a revolutionary role in the development of urban infrastructure. The idea of permanence versus temporary and the monumentality of structure are some of the insights this thesis would offer via case studies of host cities’ urban changes in infrastructure.

The Expos have catalyzed the improvement in urban landscapes before, during and after the Expos. These temporary galas have borne a rich history of organizing World-class fairs at unprecedented scales, leaving enduring impressions.

The BIE has initiated the Global Best Practice Programmes at expo sites since 2015. They showcase programmes from throughout the world that have delivered effective and long-lasting interventions, with the goal of recreating them elsewhere. The intended intervention would aim to provide the space to host the BPA even after the expo is over, to continue the legacy. It would become the BIE Pavilion on Expo sites and will architecturally be in the form of a core and a shell. The shell would be a framework posing as a playground for architects to experiment and the core will be made of the dismantled materials of the expo architecture after the event and will bear the history of the event as a legacy. xvii

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I. i. World Expositions The Architectural Pageants.

II. i. Elaborate timeline on the shift in themes of Expos.

III. i. Drawing differences between Remnant Architecture and Architecture of Legacy.

I. ii. The Bureau International des Expositions and its functions.

II. ii. Themes of Expositions and its architecture.

Introducing the Realm Timeline and Evolution Remnant Achitecture of World Expositions of World Expositions and Forms of Legacy

Table of Contents

I. iii. The Global Best Practice Programme a BIE initiative in line with UN-Habitat’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

I. iv. Channel of Thoughts formally constructed.

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II. iii. Significance of World Expos.

III. ii. Questioning the viability and grandeur of World Expos.

III. iii. Types of Remnant Architecture in urbanscapes of Expo hosts.

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Urban Impacts of World Expos on Host Nations

Conceptual Intent and Site Study

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Architecture of the BIE Pavilion

IV. i. Infrastructural changes in Urban Landscapes because and for World Expos.

V. i. The notion of legacy of World Expos as an event.

VI. i. The Architecture of the proposed BIE Pavilion.

V. ii. The proposal of a BIE Pavilion at the Expo site.

VI. ii. The concept of the Shell and Core.

IV. iii. Studying Seville as a Host city.

V. iii. Site - The Dubai Expo 2020 as District 2020.

VI. iii. Typological Experimentation.

IV. iv. Critical understanding of the Scale of expos with respect to Seville.

V. iv. The Best Practice Programme as showcased by the Dubai Expo and the BIE.

VI. iv. Programmatic Intent

IV. ii. Studying Brussels as a Host city.

IV. v. Aesthetics of Impermanence.

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VI. v. Area Statement Vi. vi. Dismantle-ability aspects

IV. vi. The different afterlives of various Expos and its architecture.

IV. vii. Case Study of MVRDV’s Netherlands Pavilion, 2000 and Save The Children Italy Pavilion, 2015.

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I. i. World Expositions - The Architectural Pageants.

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Introducing the Realm of World Expositions

I. ii. The Bureau International des Expositions and its functions.

I. iii. The Global Best Practice Programme - a BIE intiative in line with UN-Habitat’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

I. iv. Channel of Thoughts formally constructed.

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Fig 1.1 The opening of the Great Exhibition in Crystal Palace, the glass and iron building designed by Joseph Paxton at Hyde Park, London.

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WORLD EXPOS ARE LARGE SCALE EXHIBITIONS OF INNOVATIONS AND MANY NATIONS ACROSS THE WORLD GATHER AT ONE PLACE.

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WORLD EXPOSITIONS WHAT ARE THESE ARCHITECTURAL PAGEANTS? World Expos, since 1851, have served as a platform for humankind to be able to envision a more progressive future. Expos have been able to bring people from various nations to come together under the large umbrella of Innovation, Education and Cooperation. They have acted as important markers in the timeline of history and reflected the evolving perceptions of the people. World Expos welcome millions of visitors to showcase the extraordinary pavilions built by other countries (Bureau International Des Expositions, n.d.). Expos transform the host city in various realms, for years to come. The architecture of Expos is essentially temporary in nature and it lasts for the duration of the Expo which is usually 6 months. The urban infrastructure of the host cities is also improvised to be able to host the Expo itself, accommodate the visitors and create well-connected accesses to the Expo site. These temporary gala events almost necessarily require the host cities to undergo several urban changes to enable them to host the Expo.

The Expos then displayed the then-recent innovations and discoveries to show the world. These innovations over the years have been adopted by nations globally and proved to be revolutionary in terms of technological, infrastructural and social contributions.

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Fig 1.2 The Great Exhibition, 1851 in London was the first World Expo to be held. The Crystal Palace (above) was the unprecedented architectural marvel. The theme was ‘Industry of All Nations’ and it resonated with people across the globe.

(Below) George Cruikshank’s All the World going to see the Great Exhibition of 1851.

The host countries are chosen by the BIE and it’s member states. The hosts undergo several changes in terms of infrastructure before, during and after the event of the Exposition.

The BIE is the intergovernmental organisation

that

oversees

Expos are also a means to portray

and

Host City and Country

regulates the World Expos since 1931. The World Expos, Specialised Expos, Horticultural Expos

World Expos are held every 5 years.

The host country is also chosen by

boosted to accommodate the themselves are celebrated lands

Milano come under its auspices. The

The urban infrastructure is million visitors. The expo sites

DEVELOP

and the Triennale di

the efficiencies of the country.

and after the expo, the sites become

The Bureau International Des Expositions

the BIE members via

an asset to the hosts.

WORLD EXPOS

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biddings. It is the sole organisation that is incharge of the standardisation of the conduct of expos. It is the most apt organisation to be a guardian of the expositions’ legacy.

National Pavilions PARTICIPATE Most countries across the globe participate in the Expos, ususally by displaying their own pavilions. These pavilions oft showcase the country’s architectural and technological advancements. The Expos provide a common platform for the many countries to display their prowess.

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Fig. 1.3 Compilation of various artist’s representation of the World Expos.

Source: Author

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International expositions produced their own magnificence as ‘phantom kingdoms’ (Betts, Raymond F., 1980) for a little more than a century: grandly planned, hurriedly erected, widely appreciated, and quickly forgotten. These “world’s fairs” represented an era that believed that technological advancements would lead to greater human progress and worldwide harmony.

“An exposition, being temporary in nature, theatrical in character, and viewed by millions of people in the holiday spirit, gives the designer his own chance of presenting a new and rational interpretation of the building problem,” said Harvey Wiley Corbett, one of the leading architects of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.

(Betts, Raymond F., 1980) Buckminster Fuller saw the 1967 Montreal Exposition from his own design, a transparent geodesic dome that served as the United States pavilion, and said, “We are all heading into world man.”

Fig 1.4 Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic ‘skybreak bubble’ dome at Expo ‘67.

His geodesic ‘skybreak bubble’, twenty floors high and 250 feet in diameter, dominated the Expo ‘67 and was the most impactful and technologically innovative of all such spherical constructions. Even if it was only a halfsphere, the dome fitted Fuller’s concept of “spaceship earth” and, more specifically, the physical principles that he assumed the world really worked on. Even to the casual fairgoer, the globe’s meaning was evident.

Globes have studded the exposition landscape from the Parisian Exposition of 1889 through the New York World’s Fair of 1964-65.

The pavilion of the Federal Republic of Germany created for the Montreal Expo’67 marked a significant departure from prior examples of ‘shed’ buildings at international expositions. This massive tent spanned two acres and was angled at odd angles due to its variously positioned masts and offered 864 million cubic feet of area. (Betts, Raymond F., 1980)

Fig 1.5 Germany Pavilion at Expo 67 by Frei Otto and Rolf Gutbrod. A tensile canopy structure that brought his experiments in lightweight architecture to the international stage for the first time.

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The challenge and the immense possibility to build on a scale that was previously unattainable because of limited technology, occupied exposition designers far more than ordinary structures and architectural forms.

On the fairgrounds, both the horizontal and vertical lines of human vision were drastically widened owing to the quick progress in iron and steel manufacturing.

In simple historical terms, all exposition architecture for over a century was a reaction against the Crystal Palace’s monumentalism. This amazing structure, a massive greenhouse, changed architectural design in general and established the shape of future world’s fairs. Aside from the remarkable visual effects it created, primarily through the extravagant use of glass, the Crystal Palace gave a level of interior space previously unimaginable. One writer’s mathematical explanation for this development is the easiest to understand - a gothic cathedral’s stone support system takes about

1/6 of its interior size. The Crystal Palace, on the other hand, only gave up 1/2200 of its total space for that purpose. (Betts, Raymond F., 1980)

Fig 1.6 The Crystal Palace by Joseph Paxton made for the first World Exposition in London in 1851.

Fig 1.7 The Eiffel Tower by Gustave Eiffel for the Parisian Expo 1889. It was designed as a main entrance archway for the Expo.

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Engineering techniques enabled by the precise manufacture of iron and steel parts, as well as the invention of Elisha Otis’s elevator including a safety mechanism against falling which was first displayed at the 1853 New York Fair, hinted that the sky could be touched by a tall structure. Before Gustave Eiffel waved the French flag atop his constructed triumph in 1889, the idea of a one-thousand-foot-high tower appeared in text and illustrations several times. Since then, no exposition architecture monument has been regarded more inventive, critiqued, or endured as long as this one. The tower served as the main entrance to the 1889 Parisian Exposition, and it has since become a widely recognised emblem of the city of Paris.

As many literary and architectural critics have pointed out, the Eiffel Tower is more of a framework than a structure. It participates in space rather than enclosing it. Like the Crystal Palace before it, the Eiffel Tower brought an ever-appealing dimension to exposition architecture. The one embraced space on the horizontal plane, while the other pierced it on the vertical plane. It might be said that the 1889 Paris Exhibition was the pinnacle of grandiose of exposition architecture.

The purpose of such worldwide expositions had attenuated by the interwar period. New modes of communication had made it possible for a larger audience to view the wonders of the age without having to travel to a fair’s industrial display. The technological possibilities that had previously only been seen in a few fair buildings, like the Crystal Palace, were now prevalent in every major globe city. The magnificent epigram, “peace through progress,” had evidently been lost in the ruins of World War I. (Betts, Raymond F., 1980). Despite this, the advancements in communication means enabled a larger group of people to be aware and educated about the World Expositions. The aim of providing a large platform for the people to understand and perceive innovations and discoveries from around the world was backed by the primary aim of educating them.

Fig 1.8 The street view with throngs of people at the Lousiana Purchase Exposition in 1904.

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Fig 1.9 The flags of all the member states of the Bureau International des Expositions.

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THE BUREAU INTERNATIONAL DES EXPOSITIONS IS AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION THAT OVERLOOKS THE FUNCTIONING OF EXPOS.

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WHAT IS THE BUREAU INTERNATIONAL DES EXPOSITIONS?

The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) is the intergovernmental organisation that oversees and regulates the World Expos since 1931. Under the guidelines, the thematic approach of the Expos has intentionally been to contribute to mankind’s knowledge, be considerate to the social aspirations and throw light on technological, scientific, infrastructural and social progress. In the new age, World Expos are unrivalled among other global-scale events in their size, scale, duration and visitor footfall. The BIE started its activity in 1931, although it was created in 1928.

Under the auspices of the BIE, over 50 Expos have been organised and their success attracts new Member States each year. 169 countries are currently members of the BIE. Each state is represented by three delegates appointed by their respective national Governments.

They participate in the decision-making procedures and assist in other functions.

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Their mission is to guarantee the quality and the success of these world events, protect the rights of their organisers and participants and preserve their core values of Education, Innovation and Cooperation.

They do this by: • Choosing the host countries of future Expos.

• Providing candidate and host countries with its expertise in event management, national branding and public diplomacy.

• Regulating the organization of the event and making sure the host country and all participants respect the Convention of the BIE and the rules of the Expo.

From the 31 countries that created the BIE in 1928, the Organisation has grown to 169 Member States, as a result of the success and the appeal of Expos. The BIE Member States take part in all the decisions of the BIE and they strive to continually improve the quality of Expos. The headquarters of the BIE are located in Paris.

The member states play a critical role in the bidding process of host cities where the votes of the member states is counted.

Fig 1.10 Organizing an Expo takes several years of planning, from the initial announcement of candidature to the post-event legacy. The process of putting on a World or Specialized Expo has seven steps. 1.Candidature Submission 2.Project Examination 3. Election 4.Registration 5. Implementation 6.The Expo itself 7.Post-Expo conducts. (https://www.bie-paris.org/site/en/how-to-organize-an-expo) 14

The BIE was founded in 1928 and began operations in 1931. Its purpose is to ensure the quality of Expos while also safeguarding the rights of organisers and attendees. Since its inception, the BIE has centred Expos on education, innovation, and collaboration, thereby altering their purpose. They've evolved from demonstrations of industrial innovations to global debate platforms aiming at finding solutions to humanity's most pressing problems. Under the aegis of the BIE, almost 50 Expos have been held, and their success attracts new Member States every year.

Over the years, the BIE has adapted Expos to the needs of an ever-changing world. With the growing concern of international organizations for social and economic inequality and a new environmental awareness, simply showcasing industrial progress could not be enough, and Expos, by bringing the international community together, became a unique platform for education and development.

After setting Education as the primary goal of Expos in 1972, the BIE issued a resolution in 1994 that stated Expos must address crucial problems of the time and tackle the challenge of environmental protection. Ever since, Expos have made sustainable development their main objective.

The goal of Expos is to accelerate progress, and Best Practices Areas help to achieve that goal. The Best Practices Area was first proposed by the BIE. The objective was to achieve two things. First, by offering 15

actual answers to the world’s most important problems, it would help the Expos’ educational and progress purposes. Second, it would open up the Expo to new participants: anyone with a successful case study to show, from towns and regions to organisations and corporations, may apply.

The Urban Best Practice Area Programme was made an inherent concept in all expositions by the BIE after 2015, owing to its benefits and successful outcomes.

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Since its creation, the BIE has placed education, innovation and cooperation at the core of Expos, thus changing their reason for being. From showcases of industrial innovation, they have become global discussion platforms aimed at finding solutions to the biggest challenges of humanity.

-Bureau International Des Expositions

Fig 1.11 The BIE now has 170 countries as members. A maximum of three delegates from each Member State are nominated by their national governments. Through the General Assembly and the four committees, they participate in the BIE’s decision-making process. The BIE is managed by the BIE Secretariat, which is under the direction of the Secretary General. The three main components are the General Assembly, the Secretariat and the 4 commitees- Executive Committee, Rules Committee, Administration and Budget Committee, Information and Communication Committee. (https://www.bie-paris.org/site/en/how-we-work) 16

GLOBAL BEST PRACTICE PROGRAMME In line with the definition shared by the international community and mandated by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), Best practises are successful projects that provide real solutions to the world’s major concerns, according to the definition shared by the worldwide community and mandated by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). Furthermore, best practises have a demonstrable and tangible impact on improving people’s quality of life, are the result of effective partnerships between multiple actors along the value chain (public, private, and civil sectors) and can be transferred, adapted, replicated, or scaled in other places. (EXPO 2020 DUBAI CALL FOR ‘BEST PRACTICES FOR A BETTER 2030’, 2019) Expos’ aim of accelerating progress is completed by Best Practices Areas. The BIE was the one who first proposed the Best Practices Area. The goal was to accomplish two things. First, it would support the Expos’ educational and progress missions by presenting practical solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Second, it would allow new participants to join the Expo: anyone with a successful case study to present, from cities and regions to associations and businesses, may apply.

The Programme, which was launched in 2018 with the theme ‘Small Steps, Big Leaps: Simple Solutions for Sustainable Impact,’ honours a 2010 Bureau 17

International des Expositions (BIE) mandate for all World Expo hosts to create a platform that highlights tangible solutions that can be replicated, adapted, and scaled for greater global impact – highlighting World Expos as powerful platforms for inspiring change and driving human progress.

UN-Habitat is actively engaging with Dubai through the Global Best Practice Programme for Expo 2020.

The programme serves as a showcase for projects that have delivered real-world answers to the world’s most pressing issues. This is in keeping with UNHabitat’s mandate, which is to share best practises on implementing the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals’ urban-related dimensions with member states and key stakeholders.

Fig 1.12

The 25 selected Global Best Practice Programme are displayed in Dubai. They are in line with UN Habitat’s Sustainable Development Goals.

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MOSAIC OF THOUGHTS MANIFESTED INTO A CHANNELED CONTRUCT The expo hosts have to be equipped with all the necessary requirements of infrastructure, suprastructure, and ecostructure. The suprastructure may remain as a permanent legacy or be demolished and reused or relocated, depending on the Expo vision and the use of the exhibition space in the post-Expo period. The Expo site can be used for multifarious purposes in the post-Expo period, depending on the vision and plan for long-term usage of the property.

The World expos or world fair are studied through the primary lens of infrastructure in this thesis. Broadly classifying the infrastructure at its two scales - the urban level and at the scale of the expo site. The influence of expos on the urban scale witnesses the infrastructural developments in the host city in terms of transportation, construction sector, and hospitality

sector among others. On the other hand, the on-site infrastructure enables the functioning of the expos.

In general, interventions can be distinguished into those that are directly related to the event and those that are indirectly related to the event. Interventions directly relevant to the event are mainly focused on the development and construction of the Expo site, as well as interventions that contribute to the exhibition areas' accessibility from the city and region. There is also the development of accommodation for delegates of participating countries, known as Expo villages, which are distributed around the city and vicinity. The interventions that are indirectly related to the event are those whose realisation is prompted by the event but is not solely linked to the event's organisation.

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Fig 1.13 Author’s representation of the space of the display of Exposition icons. The coventional images of the monuments are broken by inverting them as showpeices suspended from the ceilings along with the posters.

Source: Author

The on-site architecture can be bifurcated into the Pavilion Architecture which is made by the participating countries or other organisations; and the other infrastructure on expo sites like the hotels, commercial spaces, expo villages, transport infrastructure, etcetera.

The pavilions are classified by their afterlife state which could be dismantled or the ones that remain intact on-site and are reused. There have been several examples of the architecture that has remained after the expo events which has not necessarily been pavilions only. The Eiffel Tower, the Atomium, the Space Needle are some of the architectural remnants.

The Barcelona Pavilion by Mies Van Der Rohe, the Dutch Pavilion by MVRDV are some of the pavilion remnants of expos. These remnants have become icons and almost symbolic to the event of expos, though not as widely known as expo outcomes. They have contributed to building the image of the city during the expos when millions of visitors flocked to the host country to get a glimpse of it. The monuments that have remained even after the expo have continued to bear the legacy of that event on-site. They serve as a reminder of the event and hence can be called legacy bearers.

The BIE has played a pivotal role in the execution of world expositions. Setting standards for the conduct of expos, enforcing the guidelines before, during, and after the expositions, and overlooking the functioning of it comes under the wings of the BIE. Principally, they have kept education as the primary aim of the expos.

The idea of expos being a creative ground for the

display of innovations that can help humankind and educate the general public is borne at the forefront by the BIE. Hence, there is a Best Practice Area Program also launched by the BIE in 2015 in correlation with the UN’s SDGs. (https://www.expo2020dubai.com/en/ news/20190929-global-best-practice-programme) All expos henceforth have to display the selected projects that provide solution to pressing global issues as per the BPA. In order to provide a space for these displays longterm, even after the six months run of expos, a BIE Pavilion is imagined which can also house the BPA and update them over time.

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From their earliest manifestations as a showcase of industrial prowess to their modern incarnation as platforms for cross-border collaboration, Expos have transformed cities, shaped debates on key issues, and provided unforgettable experiences to hundreds of millions of visitors.

-Bureau International Des Expositions

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II

Timeline and Evolution of World Expositions

II. i. Elaborate timeline on the shift in themes of Expos.

II. ii. Themes of Expositions and its architecture.

II. iii. Significance of World Expos.

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TIMELINE OF EXPOSITIONS Expos have been, and continue to be, places in which nations have substituted fighting on the battlefields with competence in fields of technological and industrial development, education and culture; the true engines of worlds past, present and future.

From an architectural perspective, the structural contributions of Expos have had enormous relevance and historical significance, intrinsically and permanently linking Expos to the history of architectural structures.

In the earlier years, Expos aimed at educating the people that came to watch. The new discoveries and inventions were kept for display and it imparted knowledge to the people about them. The countries could adopt these ideologies of inventions and use them to progress. Now, the Expos demonstrate the new discoveries in terms of technology and sustainability in the architecture of the Expo itself. The pavilions boast of new technologies inculcated in them and subzones are made in Expos dedicated explicitly to display sustainable innovations.

Hence, in some ways, the Expos are continuing the legacy of imparting knowledge to the people on recent 25

innovations but also keeping up with time and evolving in their own ways.

The Expositions grow and develop every year and are refined to the best of their ability by every host country, and yet the next one outdoes the previous host. It is easy to get carried away by their grandeur and in the recent Expos, that aspect has taken centre stage. The host country aims to gather people from all walks of life and hence put up a blingy exhibition of pavilions of every country, have an experientially unprecedented centre of attraction and lure the crowds into their mega fair.

Fig 2.1 The chronological sequence of the history of Universal Expositions from 18511, describing their themes and primary mottos. *The right page is partially in a foldout form.

Source: Author

Industry of all Nations

This Expo had the theme of agriculture, industry and ine arts. The exposition was a major event in France, under the then newly reign of Emperor Napoleon III. It attempted to surpass the London fair's Crystal Palace with its own Palais de l'Industrie. Expo 1855 honoured industry and ine arts in dedicated palaces.

Agriculture, Industry and fine arts

Industry and Art

United Kingdom aspired to host their second Expo at a grander scale than both predecessors. Signiiicant advancements had been made in the area of steel production, steam engines (for railways and ships) and telegraphy, among others and the exhibition aimed to display that.

Expo 1867 Paris took place in a context of parallel transformations, coinciding with the completion of Baron Haussmann’s renovation of Paris, the industrial revolution and ongoing social changes. It was the irst Expo to feature National Pavilions where multiple countries were allowed to partcipate and display their culture, history and innovations.

, Agriculture, Industry and fine arts

Culture and Education

The Expo was seen as an opportunity by agricultural and industrial entrepreneurs to exhibit their then recent produce. It wanted to accelerate the international business and establish itself as a cosmopolitan nation. The initial idea was to have numerous national pavilions, but eventually a central exposition building - The Industrial Palace was built to show industrial products, machinery and the arts.

In the irst American Expo, for the irst time, the exhibits were not to be presented in one single central building, but shown in ive exhibition halls according to thematic groups: the Main Hall, the Fine Arts Pavilion, the Machinery Hall, the Horticultural Palace and the Agricultural Hall. There were 200 more pavilions of various states.

Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine

, New Technologies

This Paris Expo marked the onset of electrical inventions which were preceeded by steam power at the past Expos. Graham Bell’s telephone, the microphone, the phonograph, ice-making machines, soft-drink maker and the solar generator were some of the presentations. Several noteworthy political international gatherings were also held.

Melbourne was a rapidly developing city and the Expo accelerated that growth. The infrastructure and industry were pumped and the city saw the installation of electric lights, telephones, lifts and a tramway system.

Australia’s international ties were also greatly strengthened.

Arts, Manufactures and Agricultural and Industrial Products of all Nations

Fine and Industrial Art

, Celebration of the centenary of the French revolution

The inventions of the Industrial Revolution were displayed at the Crystal Palace for the Worlds irst Exposition. The Crystal Palace was made of glass and cast iron and was modular in nature. It was relocated in London, but perished in a ire in 1936.

THE EXPOS, GOING ON SINCE 170 YEARS, HAVE VERY RICH HISTORY AND HAVE WITNESSED THE EVOLUTION OF TIMES AND HUMANITY.

The Exhibition of 1888 celebrated the urbanisation of Barcelona and its transformation into an industrial, commercial and cultural centre. It was held on an expansive site. The Palace of Industries, a new park and the Central hall were surrounded by 24 galleries which also held exhibitions for the Expo.

The Expo 1889, fourth expo to be held in Paris, marked 100 years of the French Revolution. It hoped to stimulate the economy and pull France out of an economic recession. Most of the buildings were on military land or city-owned park land, and they were demolished shortly after the Exposition closed. The Eiffel Tower was the most iconic construct and it has withstood several controversies till date.

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29 Fig 2.2 A timeline of all the Wrld Expos from 1851 to 2025, with some of the popular architectural structures. Source: Author

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Fig 2.3 The central dome of the Hall of machines the 1889 World Expo. The Galerie des Machines was a massive glass and metal hall with a floor space of 115 by 420 metres (377 by 1,378 feet) and a height of 48.324 metres (158.54 feet) that was completely devoid of internal supports. Twenty trusses made up the framework. The structure included a three-pin hinged arch, which was originally designed for bridge construction.

The Galerie des Machines provided an area of around 8 hectares (20 acres) of usable space for the 1889 exposition.

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Fig 2.4 (Above) The 1876 Centennial Exposition. The event, which lasted for six months, attracted ten million visitors and witnessed the introduction of several important inventions and creations, some of which included Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, Heinz ketchup, and Hires root beer.

(Below) Machinery in motion at the Great Exhibition, London.

The 18th-century English national fairs, which mixed commercial displays with carnival-like public entertainment, were forerunners of today’s world fairs. In addition, the Society for the Arts (also known as the Royal Society for the Arts and, eventually, the RSA), which was founded in London in 1754, held a series of competitive art displays that included industrial arts—a variety of technological advances ranging from spinning wheels to cider presses. The French began staging industrial shows in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. These were under the control of the national government, whose goal was to aid French manufacturers compete in the international marketplace against the British. The British, confident in their own products, never adopted this concept.

Instead, in the 1830s, the mechanics’ institutes in the United Kingdom began sponsoring shows. These institutes were established to provide scientific education to artisans and factory employees, and their exhibits featured tools and other labor-saving mechanical gadgets based on the most recent scientific discoveries. The mechanics’ institutes’ shows also included entertainment and unusual displays.

The idea of an international exposition had gained such traction by the 1870s that the organisers of America’s 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence determined that a world’s fair would be the most appropriate form of commemoration.

The Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition was famous for showing the early Industrial Revolution products of America. Fairgoers were amazed by the 700-ton Corliss engine, the world’s largest steam engine, as well

as new inventions such as the telephone, typewriter, and mechanical calculator. Despite the fact that other noteworthy expositions occurred in the late nineteenth century, the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 was possibly the most significant.

The World’s Columbian Exposition was the pinnacle of the fair’s golden age. Between 1893 and 1916, the festivities of expos came to a halt due to World War I. Despite this, some extravagant expos, such as those in St. Louis (1904) and San Francisco (1915), were held. While other smaller countries, such as Belgium, hosted expositions to commemorate their entry into the international arena, such as the Liège and Brussels expositions in 1905 and 1910.

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Fig 2.5 A juxtaposed State Street storefront with the Avenue of Flags at the Century of Progress World’s Fair, 1933, Chicago.

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The Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago (1933– 34) and the New York World’s Fair (1939–40) were both interesting cases of Art Deco architecture. These expos designed to divert fairgoers’ attention away from the Great Depression by indicating a glorious future that awaited them once the hard times passed. While the optimism of the New York World’s Exhibition was short-lived due to the onset of World War II in Europe, the renowned Trylon and Perisphere structures from that fair remain symbols of better times in popular culture.

World’s fairs were staging grounds for displays of US-Soviet rivalry as the Cold War emerged out of the carnage of World War II in Europe and the Pacific. The main focus of attention at the expositions in Brussels (1958) and Montreal (1967) was the comparison between the pavilions of opposing countries, which critics and politicians examined. Despite the fact that the Soviet Union did not attend the 1962 Century 21 Exposition in Seattle, the exposition’s focus on science and space exploration had Cold War implications.

The largest exposition of the time was the 1964–65 New York World’s Fair, which had as its theme “Peace through Understanding.” While a strong Cold War atmosphere might have been expected at that fair, it was not the case. Because the organisers refused to meet the BIE’s criteria, the BIE refused to sanction the event.

As a result, official foreign membership was confined to newly established Asian and African countries, with private commercial interests representing the rest of the world.

While some critics have dismissed world’s fairs as extravagant and irrelevant in the early twenty-first century, others have argued that by shifting away from the old theme of “technological utopianism” and toward a focus on social and environmental issues, fairs can continue to be beneficial to both visitors and host cities and countries.

The purpose of world’s fairs is to provide visitors a glimpse into the future. They highlight technological breakthroughs such as the telephone, which was introduced at the 1876 Philadelphia exposition, and the diesel engine, which was powered by peanut oil, of all things, at the 1900 Paris fair.

Many of the tech toys quickly become part of everyday life, yet progress in terms of peace, understanding, and other indicators of social advancement is still minimal.

When it comes to the fairs themselves, some host cities get it right, but the unfortunate truth is that planners often have a myopic, short-term focus, causing sites to deteriorate after the crowds have left. They leave a variety of legacies, ranging from tragic to mystical, with the occasionally successful attempts to transform the host city.

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SIGNIFICANCE OF WORLD EXPOS Expos have been, and continue to be, sites where nations have replaced insurgency with proficiency in domains like as scientific and industrial development, education, and culture; the actual engines of the past, present, and future worlds.

Expos’ structural contributions have had great importance and historical value from an architectural standpoint, inherently tying Expos to architectural structure history. Expos were known as representatives of cutting-edge structural development for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the time span during which Expos have developed is a period of tremendous structural innovation.

Expos have seen significant developments in the field of structures from the first in 1851 to the present day: the 35

development of iron engineering in the 19th century, the invention of reinforced concrete, the appearance of glued laminated timber, the development and widespread use of space frames, the birth of cable networks and textile membranes, and the development of pneumonics. As a result, we can identify buildings that represent authentic historical prototypes of structural systems.

Competition between nations exists to demonstrate their technological might and on the other hand, there is a competition in which each Expo attempts to outdo the preceding one’s structural achievements. This resulted in novel constructions, which in turn led to increased expanses, the emergence of new structural typologies, and experimentation with new materials or form studies.

Fig 2.6 (Left) Crystal Palace. Raising the vault. Period drawing.

Fig 2.7 (Right) Charles Burton’s design for the conversion of the Crystal Palace into a tower.

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Fig 2.8 World Map of all the locations where World Expos have been held. Source: Author 37

THESE EXPOS HAVE HAD ICONIC STRUCTURES IN HOST CITIES AS REMNANT ARCHITECTURE. THIS ARCHITECTURE HAS BEEN BEARING THE TANGIBLE LEGACY OF EXPOS UNTILL NOW.

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III

Remnant Achitecture and Forms of Legacy

III. i. Drawing differences between Remnant Architecture and Architecture of Legacy.

III. ii. Questioning the viability and grandeur of World Expos.

III. iii. Types of Remnant Architecture in urbanscapes of Expo hosts.

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Fig 3.1 Abstract illustration of viewers understanding and critically observing the activities and happenings of the past expos. The opening of the Crystal Palace as an act, a model of the first ever ferris wheel at the Chicago Expo and posters of older expos have been illustrated by the author.

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DRAWING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN REMNANTS AND LEGACY The architectural remnants of the World Expos are termed as the legacy of Expos at present. These remnants do not essentially reflect the conduct of the event of Expos. The thesis aims to establish an infrastructural legacy bearer for Expos, which is not one of the remnants. A structure that would pay an ode to the legacy of the event of World Fairs. Thus, understanding the existing representative forms of the previous Expos as monuments, parks, repurposed office spaces, housing blocks or landmarks will form the basis for creating the new legacy bearer for World Expositions.

Palace of the 1851 London exposition and the Eiffel Tower of the 1889 Paris Exposition are just a few to name. There are several remains of the Expos in terms of architectural structures which have stood across time and contributed to the urban environment of the city, constantly serving as a reminder of the Expo. This presence of remnants as a notion is the legacy of the Expos.

These remnants are a symbolic representation of the presence of the bygone Expo in the city. They have been crucially essential and functional as well in the host cities.

The architecture - be it temporary or permanent is often the main spectacle of international expositions.

There are some structures that, either intentionally or by happy accident, have not just stuck around but thrived in their post-expo afterlives as local and international landmarks, popular cultural institutions, or off-kilter icons. Architects and engineers over time have competed strongly to innovate and create architecture that has been unprecedented. The Crystal

Presently, there is an absence of a designated legacy infrastructure hence the remnants are being termed so. The thesis aims at designing the absent at the Expo sites. The intention is to create a space that pays an ode to the previous Expos and the discoveries and innovations shared in the bygone days. This would follow the scattered nature of the presence of the remnants which is aligned with the occurrence of Expositions itself.

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QUESTIONING THE GRANDEUR OF THESE EXPOS World Expositions have evolved since the mid-1800s.

Analysts have identified three distinct epochs: the era of industrialization (1851-1938), when inventions including the telephone were first shown; the era of cultural exchange (1939-1987), the most famous of which was in Montreal in 1967; and the era of nation-branding (1988-present) when Spain, for example, used Seville in 1992 to demonstrate its commitment to modernity and democracy post-Franco. More recently, countries incorporate elements of all three eras, with Expos used to showcase new inventions, to facilitate cultural exchange based on a theme, and to drive city, region, and nationbranding.

There have been several critics who perceived the expositions as an ‘expensive toy’ or a mere ‘vanity fair’, but the architecture and the site were examples of the first efforts at modern total planning, in which new engineering techniques and building materials allowed for innovative experimentation. The international exposition was basically the occasion for the display of competitive national products, fair 20 buildings were generally designed to be both monumental showrooms and statements of national ideology.1 1 The aura of nationalism which surrounded international exhibitions can be felt in the following two statements. The first is comment on the Great Exhibition of 1851: “It may be stated that no nation and capital are [sic] in a condition to undertake such design except England and London. The vast amount of value here entrusted to our safe keeping is the highest acknowledgement ever paid to the genius of national order and stability” (Martinius Scriblerus, “Exhibition Notes. No. 1,” lllustrated London News, 14 June 1851, p. 590). The second statemtent is about the Parisian Exposition of 1900: “These Paris exhibitions resolve themselves into so many demonstrations on the part of the least tottering of the Latin nations, a continuous protest against the waxing of rival stock” (F. G. Aflalo, “The Promise of International Exhibitions,” The Fortnightly, May 1900, p. 837).

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Fig 3.2 The Space Needle from the Washigton Worlds Fair as seen today with the growing urbanscape juxtaposed against what it looked like in 1962, the year of the expo. It shows how the Space Needle has been a constant in the urban fabric while other urban elements evolved.

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In the 19th and 20th century, the drama of the world’s fair was in the hasty resolution of large problems of organization and in the subsequent abandonment of most of what had been grandly constructed. Most fairs opened in disarray and closed in desolation. Between, there stood a symbolic representation of the world, settled by nations generally crowded together on a few thousand acres of land. Exposition architecture, however unimpressive it generally may have been, served well the peculiar need of constructing the monumental temporarily.

These Expos which started as a means of educating people about the innovations and discoveries under of roof turned to become a gala fair flaunting every country’s advancements, almost individually. Most often, the separate country pavilions do not stand as a landmark or remnants. The iconic structures that have prevailed through time have been the central architectural pieces of the respective Expos. The country pavilions are dismantled and sent back to the country or is put away with.

There have been instances in the events of expositions where the host country has been unable to send back the country pavilions after the expo has ended and hence had to convert those pavilions into theme parks on site.

Mega-events provide a mix of passion and investment for their hosts, but communities must be aware of the several, sometimes contradictory aims of hosting. On the one hand, the host city wants to be remembered for the event’s greatness, but they must also consider the event’s long-term advantages to the community.

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Fig 3.3 The Sky Ride, the iconic structure in the Chicago World Fair was obliterated at the conclusion of the fair. 120 pounds of dynamite was used to bring down the west tower. (Windsor, H. H.,

Jr. (August 1935). “Engineers Topple Skyride Inches from Mark” (Google books). Popular Mechanics. Chicago: Popular Mechanics Co. 64 (2): 167.

ISSN 0032-4558. Retrieved September 21, 2011.) The east tower was

demolished in 1935 using 1,500 pounds of thermite charges to melt ten-foot sections near the bottom of two of the legs. (Findling 1994, p.150)The two legs of the remaining tower collapsed when the thermite was fired and it lead to the tower falling on its sides.

(Windsor, H. H., Jr. (November 1935). “Skyride Tower Felled by Melting

Steel Legs”)

Fig 3.4 What began as an elaborate project developed by Herzog & de Meuron and Stefano Boeri—which included canals running through a fairground outlined like a Roman encampment and even a boat connection to downtown Milan—is now apparently just one interminable axis leading from out of nowhere, past a slew of country and corporate pavilions.

(Aaron Betsky, BEYOND BUILDINGS Failures of the Milan Expo, The Journal of the American Institute of Architects, 2015)

Fig 3.5 After the Seville Expo of 1992, the monorail track is abandoned, but the stations are still there, serving as anomalies in the parking lots used in Cartuja 93. Chain-link fences surround the escalators with missing components. At one end, there is a crowded building. Dusty windows and shut doors on the other hand, as if they’ve been lost in some long-abandoned metropolis.

(Morrison, Exploring The Remains of Seville, Spain’s Expo ‘92, 2015, Forbes.com) Fig 3.6 (Next page) The Eiffel Tower as a structure which has witnessed changes in the urbanscape of Paris and stayed true with the passing time. Source: Author

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THE REMNANTS HAVE DRAWN THE BRAND IMAGE OF SEVERAL HOST COUNTRIES AND IMPACTED THE CITY’S URBANSCAPES. ARCHITECTURE HOLDS THE POWER TO BECOME A CITY’S BRANDING FACE.

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WHAT ARE THE REMNANTS OF THESE ARCHITECTURAL GALAS? Several world expos have left behind structural legacy in terms of landmarks, parks, and spatial icons which have stood through decades and witnessed the evolution of the city.

The spaces of the expos have taken different forms and borne different functions across times. Some spaces have transformed spatially and structurally while some expo architecture has been functionally changed.

Landmarks have become popular tourist spots and parks have been manicured to comply with the new age requirements. Some structures have been converted to office spaces for commercial usage. Some expo sites have been transformed into theme parks or science fairs for students.

It is interesting to see how these structures have contributed in the city’s infrastructural development.

LANDMARKS AND PARKS Landmarks can play a major role in branding the city’s identity in the minds of the people. It helps in associating the city with a global event of a grand stature that leaves impressions on the people and also bears a sense of the historic legacy of the event’s occurrence. Expos are a platform that enables the city to have the opportunity of branding its identity via landmarks. Among Expo landmarks that have evidently 49

shaped the city’s image are the Eiffel Tower (Paris), the Atomium (Brussels), the Space Needle (Seattle), the Unisphere (New York), and the Tower of the Sun (Osaka).

The expos have given birth to several such legacy holders that also have become tourist destinations, fulfilling the functional aspect of identity. Some of the attractions include aquariums (Lisbon, Yeosu, Zaragoza), theme parks (Montreal, Daejeon), and performance venues (San Francisco, Barcelona). In addition, the conversion of pavilions also provides space for new attractions, such as the China Art Museum and the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, or performance venues such as the Palace of Fine Arts (San Francisco) and the Grand Palais (Paris).

Parks have been a pivotal element of experience in Expo history. They were a one of a kind space which pre existed and were reused during expos. (San Diego 1915, New York 1964) When industrial and brownfield property is converted into green space, new public space is very beneficial, as it transforms a negative aspect of the city into a valuable contribution to citizens.Among the many parks that Expos have provided are Jackson Park (Chicago 1893), Veri park (Brussels 1958), Flushing Meadows (New York 1939 and 1964), Southbank (Brisbane 1988) and the Parque das Nações (Lisbon 1998).

Fig 3.7 La Ronde in Montreal, Canada was built as an entertainment complex for the Montreal Expo of 1967. It consisted of theatres, midway attractions and drinking and dining facilities. Today, it is operated by Six Flags under an emphyteutic lease with the City of Montreal, which expires in 2065. It is the largest amusement park in Quebec and second largest in Canada. (“EXPO 67: THEN AND NOW – Tourisme Montréal Blog”. 2012. Retrieved 2016-08-10.)

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THE CHINA ART MUSEUM, SHANGHAI

THE PALACE OF FINE ARTS, SAN FRANCISCO

Fig 3.8 This was the China Pavilion for the Shanghai Expo of 2010. The pavilion attracted over 17 million visitors and due to it’s popularity, it remained open for another six months post expo too.

This pavilion was later declared as the new oficial Shanghai Art Museum and renamed as China Art Museum. The China Art Museum has a collection of about 14,000 artworks, mainly of Chinese modern art.

Fig 3.9 The Palace of Fine Arts that is in the Marina District of San Francisco, California is a monumental structure originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in order to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to 1974, it is the only structure from the Exposition that survives on site. (Kamiya, Gary, 2015-04-15. “The Temple”. Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Retrieved 2020-10-15) From 1934 to 1942 the exhibition hall was home to eighteen lighted tennis courts. During World War II, it was requisitioned by the military for storage of trucks and jeeps. At the end of the war, when the United Nations was created in San Francisco, limousines used by the world’s statesmen came from a motor pool there.

From 1947 on the hall was put to various uses: as a city Park Department warehouse; as a telephone book distribution center; as a flag and tent storage depot; and even as temporary Fire Department headquarters. (The Palace of Fine Arts: Rebuilding Archived October 12, 2012, at the Wayback Machine)

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JACKSON PARK ,CHICAGO

FLUSHING MEADOWS, NEW YORK

Fig 3.10 Jackson Park is a 551.5-acre (223.2 ha) park located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was originally designed in 1871 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, then greatly remodeled in 1893 to serve as the site of the World’s Columbian Exposition, leaving it as one of the largest and most historically significant parks in the city. A number of features attest to the legacy of the fair, including a Japanese garden, the Statue of The Republic, and the Museum of Science and Industry.

Fig 3.11 Flushing Meadows–Corona Park was created as the site of the 1939 New York World’s Fair and also hosted the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Following the 1964 fair, the park fell into disrepair, although some improvements have taken place since the 1990s and 2000s. Flushing Meadows–Corona Park retains much of the layout from the 1939 World’s Fair.

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COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

Expos, unlike the public-serving legacies of attractions and parks, can create commercial space that can be used after the event. Pavilion zones can be converted into office space during more compact Expos. This is most visible in Hannover’s World Expo 2000, which left a lasting legacy of expanding Messe facilities, despite the Expo’s lack of popularity. The problem with legacy of commercial space is that it would not destabilize local real estate markets by providing a large amount of space all at once. This issue was highlighted in Yeosu, which did not require the quantity of space freed at the end of the Expo.

Several events include an Expo Village development that provides accommodation for the event and pavilion workers that is later accessible on the housing market. This can offer impetus for cities with housing shortages to add to dwelling units in order to improve supply and meet affordability targets. Expo 1993 Daejeon and Expo Urbe after Lisbon 1998 were also popular housing complexes. Additional housing that isn’t needed, on the other hand, depresses the local market and may deter residential construction for years until the market reaches equilibrium.

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THE MODEL CITY, BELGIUM Fig 3.12 The Model City [Cité Modèle] of Laeken was to show in the Expo 58, the modern standards of Belgium in terms of social housing. Coordinated by the Belgian architect Renaat Braem, a disciple and admirer of Le Corbusier was also constructed, the initial programme was delayed considerably, and the Model City [Cité Modèle] was not fully completed until the 1960s. Today this city is the focus of a renovation and construction project led by a group of architects

THE HANNOVER MESSE, GERMANY

EXPO VILLAGE, MILAN

Fig 3.13 The Hannover Messe is one of the world’s major trade shows dedicated to the advancement of industry. It is hosted on the Hanover Fairground in Hanover, Germany, and is organised

by Deutsche Messe AG. There are usually over 6,500 exhibitors and 250,000 visitors. The Hannover Messe began in 1947 in an undamaged factory building in Laatzen, south of Hanover, as part of a British military government agreement to aid postwar Germany’s economic progress. Due to the exemptions in food restrictions for the fair at the time, the first fair was dubbed Fischbrötchenmesse due to the exemptions in food rationing for the fair at this time. It proved hugely successful and was thence repeated on a yearly basis, contributing largely to the success of the Hanover fairground in replacing the then-East German city of Leipzig as the new major fair city for West Germany.

Fig 3.14 During the Milan Expo, the delegates of various countries were housed in seven sustainable towers. The concept proposed for the development of a three-building complex north of the Cascina Merlata Masterplan, which would be utilised as an Expo Village during the first phase before being transformed into subsidised housing. The buildings are built around a central plaza, the new complex’s hallmark feature, and are arranged in a three-tower layout, sloping upward and tapering at the upper levels like granite blocks. The volumes have regular but faceted shapes, are uniform in substance but vary in hue and light refraction.

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Fig 3.15 The New York State Pavilion, New York World’s Fair, 1964.

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THE EXPO PAVILIONS ARCHITECTURE CAN BE DESIGNED TO SERVE AND BE RELEVANT DURING THE EXPO AS WELL AS AFTER THE EXPO.

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IV. i. Infrastructural changes in Urban Landscapes because and for World Expos.

IV. ii. Studying Brussels as a Host city.

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Urban Impacts of World Expos on Host Nations

IV. iii. Studying Seville as a Host city IV. iv. Critical understanding of the Scale of expos with respect to Seville.

IV. v. Aesthetics of Impermanence.

IV. vi. The different afterlives of various Expos and its architecture.

IV. vii. Case Study of MVRDV’s Netherlands Pavilion, 2000 and Save The Children Italy Pavilion, 2015.

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The organisation of large events, including World Expos, can significantly affect the urban landscape of the host city and region.

The intensity of the changes depends on a number of factors, especially the size of the city and the degree to which it is equipped with transport infrastructure and other facilities relevant to events.

-Lea Petrović Krajnik, Changes in the urban landscape of Expo cities, 2019

Fig 4.0 An abstract collage of the World Exposition Maps of Chicago, Seville, Paris, Hannover and Shanghai.

Source: Author 59

URBAN AND INFRASTRUCTURAL IMPACTS OF THE EXPOS ON THE HOST NATIONS World Expos last for a duration of six months which is comparatively longer than most other international events. The footfall of visitors is also considerably high and to accommodate and host them, the city undergoes several changes in terms of urban infrastructure.

World Expos have been used as a stimulus for accelerated development and transformation in a city's overall image since the 19th century. The World Expos in Vienna in 1873 and Barcelona in 1888 are two of many events whose planning was strongly linked to the development of the host city. The World Expo in Vienna significantly aided in the resolution of the city's traffic problem, while the plans for the exhibition led to the faster implementation of other planned projects and the presentation of Vienna as a European metropolis.

"Politik der Großen Ereignisse – Politik der Festivalisierung" is a new policy style discussed by Häuermann and Siebel (1993). Since it is difficult to formulate a long-term policy of the majority due to society's structure and challenges, they believe that massive initiatives can affirm the competency of political acts and link the various interests of the majority. Thus, World Expo 1992 in Seville brought together disparate interests and acted as a catalyst for the host city's urban and regional development, with a focus on the region's and city's overall modernisation, the definition of a model of urban development, the improvement of economic development, and the restoration of its cultural heritage.

The thesis will be studying the cities of Brussels and Seville to understand the changes in the urban environment.

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BRUSSELS EXPO 1958 Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles Wereldtentoonstelling Brussel 1958 Belgium edged over other European cities including Paris and London to win the bid for the World's Fair in 1953. This would be Belgium's sixth time hosting the international fair, and it would be a historic one because it would be the first after WWII. Following the destruction of two World Wars, Belgium's desire to host a progressive exposition established the tone for the event, with Expo 58 serving as the main stage for participants to symbolise peace.

Brussels, which had lately been proclaimed the European Economic Community's capital, was transformed and suited to the needs of the aeroplane and motor vehicle, which were becoming increasingly popular, with urban roads and a new airport.

Due to the large number of guests expected, SABENA, Belgium's national airline, temporarily extended its 61

capacity by hiring a couple of Lockheed Constellations.

For the same reason, and ahead of schedule, a second terminal was added to the Melsbroek national airport; on the west side of the airport, on the premises of the municipality of Zaventem.

Expos are exhibitions of new technologies or provide an excellent perspective of the current technological renaissance. They provide a rich field for observation and emulation and contribute to the advancement of knowledge by popularising new industrial techniques.

They also function as convention centers. Cities that hosted Expos were vital in organising conferences, such as Brussels, which was ranked first in the world in 1958. Brussels was designated as a world city as a result of Expo 1958.

Fig 4.1 In 1953 Belgium won the bid for the World’s Fair, winning out over other European capitals such as Paris and London. This would mark Belgium’s 6th time hosting the international event – a monumental one, in fact, as it would be the first one held after WWII. With the devastation of two World Wars, Belgium’s intent to deliver a progressive exposition set the tone for the event, and Expo 58 would be seen as the headlining platform to symbolize peace among participants. (Pamphlet available at ICAO’s counter during the Brussels Universal and International Exhibition.)

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UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION OF SEVILLE, 1992.

The year 1992 was a turning point in Seville's urban history. The Exhibition was held on the Island of the Cartuja, which is located between the two branches of the Guadalquivir River. Until then, there had been no urban development in this area, with the exception of the Cartuja Monastery, which was built during the 15th and 16th centuries and is the only unique element of the area. In addition, a series of hydraulic, electrical, gas, and telecommunications network installation activities had to be started. Some of these structures have now perished, while others are still operational.

For the city, the Isla de la Cartuja has been a centre for technical and business development after the Expo.

In terms transportation infrastructure related to Expo 92, the double Seville-Madrid connection stands out due to advancement of the N-IV highway, which led to the current Autovía del Sur highway, and the High Speed, which connects the Andalusian capital with Madrid in just two and a half hours and was a big feat to build as Spain's first high-speed line. These facilities are still important in today's link between the city and the country's capital.

In terms of urban transformation, 75 kilometres of new roads were built between the seven circles and four new avenues, considerably reducing traffic congestion and alleviating the isolation that many neighbourhoods had been experiencing. Furthermore, the new SE-30 bypass has had a significant impact on the metropolitan area, resulting in the remarkable development of 63

localities like Aljarafe.

The construction of six additional bridges across the Guadalquivir River was another significant step in the city's territorial and urban evolution.

It is worth mentioning that the Seville airport has undergone a transformation, doubling its capacity and now receiving nearly four million people per year. The current Santa Justa Station was erected as a result of the railway network change, and it will be where the new high-speed line between Seville and the country's capital will arrive.

There is also the development of accommodation for delegates of participating countries, known as Expo villages, which are located both in the city and in the surrounding area. Expo City in Mairena de Aljarafe is located 15km from the Expo 1992 site.

CORAL, the Official Reservation Center, had a total of 25,790 beds available. As a result of this great exposition development programme, Spain as a whole gained a major boost, which was aided by the Olympic Games in Barcelona the following year.

World Expo 1992 in Seville brought together disparate interests and acted as a catalyst for the host city's urban and regional development, with a focus on the region's and city's overall modernisation, the definition of a model of urban development, the improvement of economic development, and the restoration of its former economic significance.

Fig 4.2 The year 1992 marked a before and after in the urban history of Seville. (Santos, 2019) The Island of the Cartuja, located between the two arms of the Guadalquivir River, was the enclave that housed the Exhibition. Until then, the urban development of this area was null, except for the Monastery of the Cartuja as the only singular element of the place and that was built between the XV and XVI centuries. In addition, it was necessary to start up a set of hydraulic, electrical, gas and telecommunications network installation works.

Regarding transport infrastructure linked to Expo’92, the double Seville-Madrid connection stands out on the one hand through the unfolding of the N-IV highway that connects the Andalusian capital with Madrid in just two and a half hours and that was a great challenge to be the first high-speed line that was built in Spain. In terms of urban transformation, 75 kilometers of new roads were built between the seven rounds and four new avenues.

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CRITICAL QUESTIONS ON THE GRANDEUR OF EXPOS Is Expo 92's global scale and massive size appropriate for a city the size of Seville? - Its 215 hectares are larger than Seville's city centre. Is the city's financial and economic foundation strong enough to handle it?

That topic must be asked, especially in light of issues with grounds and facility maintenance: certain areas of the site now appear shabby and abandoned, buildings are falling into disrepair, the cable car is no longer operational, etc.

Many debates have occurred about the choice of site: an appealing option would have been to build Expo 92 on numerous urban sites on both banks of the Guadalquivir, better integrating it into the city. On a larger scale, the quick building of an enormous road network around Seville encourages “unsustainable” expansion. The decision to concentrate building activity in Seville has also been criticised. This is undoubtedly contributing to the current scarcity of building lots and skyrocketing land prices. Finally, some infrastructure, such as the airport in Seville, appear to be underutilised.

The challenges for Seville, which ran out of money to remove many of the pavilions created for the 1992 Expo and eventually merged them into a science and education park, demonstrate how difficult it is to leave a legacy for Expos.

Rather than specific landmarks, according to Expo 2015 design director Matteo Gatto, a crucial legacy of the fair would be the public spaces it leaves behind, which he hopes will serve as a basis for the site’s rehabilitation.

Gatto believed that they could design productively in those empty spaces of the neighbourhood but was uncertain of its final result.

Structures that can be moved and repurposed are a smart solution to infrastructural remnant issues, but buildings that remain on an Expo site must be able to grow to meet the city’s evolving demands.

Expo architecture’s enduring symbols are typically extremely revolutionary examples of design or engineering, capable of embodying and expressing the zeitgeist to future generations. The following structures from around the world demonstrate what it takes for an Expo pavilion to survive and thrive long after the fair is over.

More recently, countries incorporate elements of all three eras, with Expos used to showcase new inventions, to facilitate cultural exchange based on a theme, and to drive city, region and nation-branding.

Fig 4.3 (Right) Plan of Expo ‘92, Seville.

Expo ‘92 is one of the most ambitious project of develop­ment in Europe. Since 1987, (Groote, 2005) Seville and in Andalusia, a US$ 10 billion infrastructure investment programme came into being, in transport, and in communication.

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AESTHETICS OF IMPERMANENCE The built architecture is a form of theatrics, specially in these designed-to-be-temporary structures. The ephemerality is evident from the construction process to the active usage till the end use which could be demolition, relocation, dismantling and resuage. Each temporary intervention or pavilion hosted in the Expos sees a different afterlife than the other. Some structures become monumental in nature and dominate over the urban fabric of their surroundings, like the Eiffel Tower.

Some structures are repurposed in accordance with the requirement of functions in the area, like office spaces or theme parks. Some structures are dismantled and taken away by their home countries to be reused. Some merely see an unfateful end since they get ablaze or broken down mindlessly.

The reaction that adaptable architecture elicits in those who encounter it is perhaps the most significant, though most difficult to aspect to assess. The way people react to the transient characteristics of structures they are accustomed to thinking of as permanent is complex, but practical benefits are relatively easy to understand once they are quantified.

These structures pose a question about the legacies of World Expos and how undefined it is. Being such a mega event of global stature with BIE as the head organisation, it calls for an infrastructural legacy bearer. Since the architecture of Expos is at the forefront of the largescale displays, an infrastructural legacy bearer that portrays the rich history would be apt.

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Fig 4.4 Illustration by author of Expo 2020 Pavilion and Exhibits

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DIFFERENT AFTERLIFE FATES OF THE EXPO PAVILIONS Any pavilion’s ultimate precept must be to look to the future. Expos have always been futuristic festivals, celebrations of human ingenuity’s potential, and showcases of cutting-edge technology. In two ways, great pavilions have addressed the future. They recognize the importance of creating a legacy for their own display.

While host country buildings usually survive Expos, the survival of a national aspect of a pavilion was initially a matter of chance. A replica Viking ship, which sailed from Norway to the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, can still be seen in Geneva, Illinois, and Norway’s pavilion, which was modeled after one of the famous stave churches, has also survived. Similarly, the Japanese tearoom from Expo 1915 San Francisco was relocated and remains a landmark in Belmont, California. Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona pavilion only lasted a year before being lovingly restored by Catalan architects in the 1980s in recognition of its historical value.

Exhibitors began to focus more intentionally on legacy in the second part of the twentieth century. The much69

loved Yugoslav pavilion from Expo 1958 in Brussels was transported to Wevelgem, Belgium. From Expo 1967, the frame of the United States pavilion lost its acrylic skin in a fire, although its original location in Montreal is still used as a renowned exhibition space known as the Biosphere. Following Expo 1992 Seville, Canada gave its pavilion to be used as a trade school, whereas Italy’s pavilion is still in use as a business centre.

The United Arab Emirates has a history of bringing back its pavilions and incorporating them into domestic projects. The country’s Expo 2015 Milan pavilion is currently a component of Masdar City, a sustainable development initiative. In an era where people are concerned about sustainability aspects and recycling, it’s important to make sure that a pavilion has some form of long-term value and can’t be dubbed a waste.

The strength of futuristic visions should not be underestimated. Such foresights possess the power to reassure, to motivate, to mobilize, and perhaps most importantly, to wean humanity away from its most destructive obsession: it’s past.

These are images of the afterstate of the pavilions in the Milan Expo 2015. Indubitably, these photographs demonstrate a necessary step for all temporary events, large or small; the dismantling procedure. It is just as important as the construction stage, if not more difficult and demanding, and all participating countries should be required to plan it meticulously in order to minimise the environmental impact of debris, waste, and pollutants as much as possible.

Only a few pavilions are used as permanent venues, thus a thorough demolition strategy was required just as rigorous as the execution and building stage.

These conditions become a catalyst in raising questions of the sustainability promises that are made by all pavilion duing construction.

Are the aspects of sustainability only superficilly demonstrated during the event or should they be mandatorily implemented before, during as well as after the expo? The design intervention will aim at proposing a prototypical idea for dismantling.

Fig 4.5 The Left column shows all the images of pavilions during the expo and the Right column shows the same pavilions condition while dismantling which often cause accumulation of hazadous debris and pollution.

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Fig 4.6 (Above) Palais de l’Industrie. Assembling the central arches with sliding scaffolding. Note that the side arches were erected first, together with the intermediate floor and the longitudinal intermediate galleries, which all together would counteract the thrusts of the central vault arches and stabilize the structure trans- versely against the horizontal forces.

Fig 4.7 (Below) Palais de l’industrie. Dismantling carried out in 1897. Note that the opposite process assembly was followed: the arches from the central nave were first dismantled, then the arches from the side and intermedia-te naves, which all together Counteracted the thrusts from the central nave.

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In the first two decades of the twenty-first century, there was no substantial development in new architectural structural typologies. Although the structures are largely suspended by the same typologies, they do have fresh designs and formalisations resulting from the freedom provided by new fundamental computing resources. In several cases, the building has even achieved a level of sculptural or plastic inventiveness.

This type of formal experimentation is not new; the exhibition pavilion’s architecture has always been well suited to this goal, considering that it lacks a rigid functional programme and frequently aims to make an impression on the public.

What happened was that the absence of available computation tools steered this invention toward extremely rational, structural designs that followed the logic of the physical laws that govern our environment.

Nowadays, computer technology has given us virtually endless computation, presentation, and manufacturing tools, allowing us to explore regions beyond physical rationality.

Despite promising a methodical dismantalation, the pavilions are left to die on the expo sites witout being looked after. Then, in desparate times, they are taken down by bulldozers and disposed off carelessly.

Milan Expo of 2015 saw a similar fate and was widely talked about as well. Only the pavilions of Brazil, USA, Monaco and Uruguay were granted a renewed use.

Rest of the constructions, with no regard for the event’s slogans, were destined for the (un)foreseen condition of abandonment. (Poli, 2017) The pavilions then seem completely disconnected from their former grandeur.

They are merely a character in the afterlife of the expo.

The promises of sustainability and forward-thinking in terms of global practices seem like a greenwash over the harsh realities. The romance of the idea of dismantling, is often talked about but seldom implemented.

This advancement in the use of technology and the foresght of the building should also include the dismantling phase. The fact that there was a conscious afterthought for the Crytal Palace in 1851 itself speaks volumes on the afterlife of temporary expo architecture.

There have been several structures which have been dismantled and rebuilt at other suitable locations.

Whereas on the other hand, there have been many more pavilions and architectural debris on expo sites.

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73 Fig 4.8 The Best Practice Program can bring the world together to provide solutions for the ever growing challenges.

EXPOS AS A PLATFORM CAN BE USED FOR PRODUCTIVE PURPOSES EVEN AFTER THE EVENT IS OVER VIA THE GLOBAL BEST PRACTICE.

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CASE STUDY OF THE MVRDV NETHERLANDS PAVILION AT THE HANNOVER EXPO 2000 MVRDV has designed the famous Nethrlands Pavilion for the Hannover Expo 2000. The idea of the original design was to stack 6 various landscape experieces in the form of a building rather than spreadingit our across the site area. The present proposal keeps the “stacked landscape” concept alive by refurbishing the existing structure and adding two stepped buildings to the original site’s perimeter. The renovated pavilion will be home to co-working offices and conference rooms, with special emphasis paid to preserving and transforming original design aspects into office elements. The first floor, which once contained a grid of greenhouses, will be converted into an office with a rigid rectilinear structure, while the pods on the second floor, which were once planters, will be glazed and converted into meeting rooms and office spaces. The forest level and outdoor staircases will also be preserved; the groundlevel “dunes” will remain as a gathering spot with tiny cafés and exhibition rooms, and the rooftop dome, which previously housed a restaurant, will now house a new fast-casual restaurant.

This new chapter in the Expo Pavilion’s history builds on the structure’s position as a leading example of sustainable design. The forest level will not only serve as an example of natural components being integrated 75

Fig 4.9 (Above) The pavilion in an unattended state after the expo 2000. (Below) The new proposal for Expo Pavilion 2.0 by MVRDV which has an addition of student housing and offices. The adaptive changes of the structure can be visibly noticed.

into the built environment, but it will also serve as a demonstration for the reuse of old structures, demonstrating how buildings may be planned to adapt to future changes.

The original pavilion had not been converted before since all prior attempts – and there had been many – had failed. However, as the city has grown, the previously undeveloped areas have become more busy and crowded, allowing for new developments. The structure itself sat in the elements for 20 years, deteriorating into a ruin – albeit one in excellent structural condition – while the forest on the third level continued to grow on its own. During this time, the city of Hannover was instrumental in keeping the pavilion as one of the few significant structures from the World Expo alive and well.

Fig. 4.10 (Top most) The old programs of the Netherlands pavilion in 2000 were mainly to showcase the various landscapes of the country. The architecture itself reflected that. The Expo Pavilion 2.0 has assigned different functions to these spaces while trying to retain its architectural character.

Fig 4.11 (Top) Diagrams showing how the architecture of the old space guides its newer functions.

Fig. 4.12 (Left) Illustration of the entire proposed complex by MVRDV showing the student housing and offices.

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CASE STUDY OF THE SAVE THE CHILDREN ITALY PAVILION AT EXPO 2015 REPURPOSED AS JARAHIEH SCHOOL, LEBANON The Save the ildrenItaly was one of the many pavilions at the 2015 Expo on Milan. They insisted that the structure be used for a humanitarian purpose after the event of the expo was over. CatalyticAction, a non-profit design company specialising in refugee play and education spaces, took up the task by addressing the absence of educational facilities in Jarahieh refugee camp in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, which is home to 500,000 displaced Syrian children. Save the Children Italy’s donation was dismantled, relocated to Jarahieh, and modified by CatalyticAction, in conjunction with the children and residents, into a practical and sustainable educational and social facility. The development and creation of ideas began nine months prior to the school’s debut, with the students participating in creative exercises that directly influenced the final design. Unusual construction tactics were applied with the support of relationships developed over several weeks with Syrian and Lebanese people, allowing CatalyticAction to, for example, experiment with locally sourced materials. Insulation and sound dampening materials made of sheep’s wool were employed.

Because Bekaa is home to 72 percent of Lebanon’s sheep, this technique was not only sustainable, but it also benefited local farmers and labourers hired to clean and dry the wool.

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Fig 4.13 (Above)The Save the Children Italy pavilion in Milan at Expo 2015. (Below) The Jarahieh School in Lebanon which is made from the dismantled pavilion o the Expo.

The project interpreted the notions of sustainability by paying attention to the entire process, from design to building, dismantling and reconstruction methodologies while being aware of bioclimatic aspects. The planning and designing included reusing 90% of the original materials, including the framework, roof, panels and windows, as well as all screws used during construction.

They desired that the project be designed as part of a circular economy system.

Fig. 4.14 (Top left) The integration of local material usage in the Jaraheih School.

Fig. 4.15 (Top right) Locals coming together with CatalysticAction to build the school.

Fig 4.16 (Left) The Jarahieh School interiors made of local and sustainable materials, dismantled from the expo pavilion.

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Fig 4.17 (Top left) The plan and section of the Jarahieh School in Lebanon.

Fig 4.18 (Centre) The various uses of the space at different times of the day and week where all the resident locals can come together and it is not only restricted to schooling hours and students.

Fig 4.19 (Top right) The cycle showing the original expo pavilion, the dismantling process, the transportation of the dismantled pavilion and r=the reconstruction of the school in Lebanon.

Fig 4.20 (Left) A sketch made by one of the students on the envisioned school in the locality.

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V

Conceptual Intent and Site Study

V. i. The notion of legacy of World Expos as an event.

V. ii. The proposal of a BIE Pavilion at the Expo site.

V. iii. Site - The Dubai Expo 2020 as District 2020.

V. iv. The Best Practice Programme as showcased by the Dubai Expo and the BIE.

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NOTION OF LEGACY OF WORLD EXPOSITIONS

What is Legacy? A general notion and in relation to expos.

Legacy should be something that makes the perceiver acknowledge the history and bears a sense of the evolution and boasts to be proud of the present. With the passing of time, the idea of legacy, as a form, also changes. It does not necessarily have to be duplicated or reused from one event after the other. It can assume different forms with changing times and be relevant to the audience. The notion of legacy only being symbolic or iconic would not be the most apt or in sync with the conduct and evolution of world expos. The expos have been bearing drastic transmogrifications since 1851 when the first expo was held in London.

They have lasted through time and witnessed histories. They have seen the first encounters of the people with inventions that have become an everyday part of our lives. The idea of legacy is not to revive all these celebrations again literally, but to evoke a sense of appreciation and acknowledgment for them.

Fig 5.1 A missing poster seeking the legacy bearer for the event of World Expositions.

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THE PROPOSAL OF A BIE PAVILION AT EXPOS

The proposal of a BIE Pavilion on Expo sites would be as a permanent sturture which would be functionally adaptive over time. Expos provide such a platform for the world to come together, but it can be further utilised to a bigger potential, optimally. The Best Practice Programs can continue to take place perenially under the auspices of the BIE. The particular problems of 2020 have brought to light a number of underlying global issues that this generation, as well as future generations, must solve in order to assure a brighter and better future. There is a productive sense of urgency around the world that we need to pool resources and work together to achieve solutions for these. Though Expos and other large-scale events cannot establish or propel these groups on their own, they can play a significant role in assisting them by reinforcing their feeling of purpose, identity, and pride.

They can also help them with information sharing, discovery, innovation, and philanthropy, among other things. Furthermore, they may bring them closer to their governments and leaders, as well as visionaries and academics, resulting in local and global communities eager to collaborate, grow, and contribute. Never has the world needed revitalized and positive social capital as a means of overcoming gaps, enjoying our culture,

and collectively confronting global concerns as much as it does today. By their very nature, World Expos provide the apt platform for building and showing social capital, both locally and globally.

Businesses and organisations rely on social capital for resilience and support at times like these, and this isn’t limited to community and social contexts. Small and large firms are driven to help one another by their relationships and connections.

However, the numerous acts of compassion, tolerance, acceptance, eagerness to help, and openness to learn from the circumstance have perhaps re-emphasized the significance of social capital. The hope is that this will continue in the future, beyond Covid-19 and into the domains of global concerns that we can together address.

According to the United Nations, zero of the 20 biodiversity goals set by 196 countries in 2010 have been fully achieved on time. Around the same number of countries will be participating in Expo 2020, providing us with the ideal opportunity to foster renewed optimism and accountability for our greatest common challenges and goals.

Expos are not only a fantastic way to build long-term social capital, but they also have a responsibility to 84

Fig 5.2

An abstract illustration of the core and shell of the BIE Pavilion with exhibits of various kinds. Source: Author

do so for the cities that host them, the countries that participate in them, and the millions of people who visit them from all over the world.

Legacy binds the past, present, and future in multifarious ways. It reflects the continuum that the event possesses and gives a cue to follow for the future events. The legacy becomes an important aspect to build on to showcase the advancements while 85

acknowledging its history when it is actively celebrated as a recurring fair every five years.

The ability of an Expo to be a positive force cannot be underestimated. However, social effect is frequently sensed in subtle ways. It’s vital to remember that any favourable legacy from previous Expos, whether in terms of infrastructure, economics, or other aspects, can claim to have a positive impact on social capital.

Expos are developed and delivered by professionals, and partially supervised by regulatory organisations, but the true stakeholders are the people of that city or country. Citizens and inhabitants give an Expo life and help to tell its story both domestically and globally for years to come.

Expositions were also physical expressions of the creation of new tools, materials, techniques, or aesthetics, bringing in ideas of progress and change.

(Herbert, The View of the Trocadéro. 112.) World expositions are regarded as highly awaited for promoting education, communication, entertainment, and even competitiveness, according to both historical and modern accounts. Parallel to this, international expositions have been a well-resourced subject of critical investigation. The historical, political, social, urban, and architectural components of these events have been increasingly investigated as sites to identify and characterise avantgarde and progressive studies in the moderation of space, with over 150 years of exhibition. Furthermore, the global expositions brought together the whole range of industrial technology accessible at the time. Societies were heading toward mass production and mass consumption at the time of the first world expositions, fuelled by newly developed engines of an increasingly industrialised world.

They've also been seen as a way to transmit ideas, and increasingly values, to a public that had already accepted change as part of the world's inevitable modernisation.

With a modern take, there is a hope of a similar intensity of impacts with regards to the Best practice Programmes. Relatively significant issues are tackled with innovative solutions and they can receive the boost by the organisational virtue of this institution and also by the awareness spread among the audiences.

The world expositions are frequently remarked as one of the most significant and multifaceted cultural undertakings of the 19th and 20th centuries CE. (Wesemael, Architecture of Instruction and Delight.

14) The staging of an exposition was an event that touched upon the social, political and academic sectors of each host nation. (Budden, The Relation of Exposition Planning to Civic Design.153-162.)

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Fig 5.3 An abstract illustration depicting how architects can get bound by the practicalities of permanent architecture.

Source: Author 87

EPHEMERALITY OF EXPO ARCHITECTURE CAN ALLOW ARCHITECTS TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES FREELY WITHOUT BEING BOUND TO THE COMPLEXITIES OF PERMANENCE.

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SITE - THE DUBAI EXPO 2020, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES The Dubai Expo 2020 will be running from 1st October 2021 till 31st March 2022. It was scheduled for October 2020, but due to the global pandemic, it was postponed by a year.

The Dubai Expo 2020 won the bid to host the very first expo in the MENASA region in 2013. It is a great honor for any country to be able to host an exposition.

Dubai Expo has been able to garner the support of 192 countries where all have their own representation in the form of country pavilions. Never in history have so many nations gathered together for sharing and portraying their ideas, cultures, and technologies on the Expo platform.

The theme for the Expo - ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ stands apt owing to the participation of so many countries, allowing for a great exchange of every nation’s advancements in various fields. It has the subthemes of Mobility, Opportunity, and Sustainability.

Each subtheme has its own ‘district’ and the pavilions are located within these districts paying an ode to the subthemes.

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The Expo offers an opportunity to have immersive experiences of every participating country in their own pavilion which displays their prowess in different realms. The architecture of these pavilions itself is a world of its own. Expos allow for mass production of temporary architecture at one place, and that is a marvel in itself.

The various materials, designs, technologies, and methodologies adopted in the making of these 190+ country pavilions is a phenomenon that does not occur elsewhere, at a scale like this.

Fig 5.4 (Right) The Al Wasl Plaza dome at the heart of the expo 2020 which has the world’s largest 360-degree projection surface. It is surrounded by the Rove Hotels.

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The site was rather an obvious choice considering the Expo is the most recent one, and only the second to host the Global Best Practice Programme at the expo platform. It has displays of the 20 selected Best Practice Programs which are in line with UN’s SDGs. The new Dubai Exhibition Centre is also adjacent to the expo site, nfact creating an entrance to it from the mtro station.

This is a permanent structure and by the nature of it, it will ensure a large footfall at the site even after the expo is over. The DEC plays an important role in the planning of District 2020 whichis the planned afterlife of the expo site.

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The design intent of having the BIE pavilion and envisioning that the rest of the expositions will also follow suit, allows for an expansion of the concept geographically too. Dubai has also significantly undergone infrastructural changes in its urban fabric and made itself capable of hosting the expected millions of visitors.

The Expo was constructed on a barren land and hence the connectivity and transportation means were heavily extended to make the site easiy accessible. There is yet seemingly a lot of potential of infratructural growth around the site area.

District 2020 has also been extensively planned as an urban afterlife of the expo site. District 2020 has been designed while keeping in mind the futuristic approach of working and living collaboratively. It aims at providing a space for inclusive and diverse communities where there is a continuum of positive energy and flow of ideas which facilitates growth. After the six months run of the Expo, District 2020 will repurpose 80% of the Expo’s built environment into an integrated space with mixed use functions.

The proposal of District 2020 serves as an assurance of

a constant flow of people. Residents, business opportunities seekers, visitors, tourists or otherwise will be well connected to the site. The DEC will also contribute to this, as mentioned earlier.

This ensures a constant exposure to outsiders and serves the proposed BIE Pavilion’s purpose of making the crows aware and be a space for experimentations and discussions.

Fig 5.5 (Left) The location map of the Expo2020 site in Dubai’s context.

Fig 5.6 (Right) The Expo 2020 masterplan with the Dubai Exhibition Centre highlighted, in front of which will be the proposed design intervention.

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The Dubai Expo 2020 Masterplan 93

METRO STATION OPPORTUNITY DISTRICT DUBAI EXHIBITION CENTRE MOBILITY PAVILION POTENTIAL SITE

AL WASL PLAZA

UAE PAVILION MOBILITY PAVILION

SUSTAINABILITY PAVILION

SUSTAINABILITY DISTRICT MOBILITY DISTRICT

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THE SITE The idea is to have the BIE Pavilion at the entrance of the Expo site, which will then become the District 2020 after the exposition is over.

The Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) is the strcture adjacent to the metro station and infact provides a gateway to enter the site from the metro station. It is a public space with a strong throughfare cuttng across its centre. The DEC is a permanent structure and a place with growing popularity, gathering like minded individuals and groups. The metro station has also permanently established a connecting route of the site with the rest of the city.

The kind of seminars, meetings, organisational shows, speeches and lectures and global forums that are held at the DEC indicate that it is a hub for new initiatives to launch from, a place with a continuum of growth in every aspect. It is a space that looks forward to the future.

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This setting creates an ideal space for the BIE Pavilion ensuring a constant flow of visitors. The building itself will hold a great potential to attract visitors and members, but the DEC and the District 2020 will act as catalysts in the growth of the BIE Pavilion.

There are two possible sites for the new Pavilion on either sides of the entrance pathway which leads to the AL Wasl Plaza. This also keeps room for future expansion or extension of the BIE Pavilion. Having a rich context around it, it will also stand out as an individual structure owing to its functions. It would not be appropriate to have the same programs within the DEC because the programs demand openness and a freeflow of onlookers, visitors and participants, unlike being covered within a part of the DEC. It being out in the open will probably lure the visitors in and act as a space for productive gatherings.

Fig 5.8 (Top) Aerial graphical view of the Dubai Exhibition Centre, the metro station and the proposed site area.

Fig 5.9 (Bottom left) The proposed site area with respect the the thoroughfare leading to the Al Wasl Plaza dome.

Fig 5.10 (Bottom Right) Real image of the DEC and Metro station with a partial view of the site area.

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THE SITE OF DISTRICT 2020 DUBAI EXHIBITION CENTRE PROPOSED SITE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT

RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

MIXED-USE DEVELOPEMENT

Expo 2020 Dubai will give birth to District 2020, a mixed-use urban neighbourhood. It aspires to be a model for a human-centered, sustainable, and smart city. It’s a fully integrated urban environment that supports the future of working and living, with advanced digital and physical infrastructure that promotes connectivity and collaboration.

It will be a varied and inclusive society centred on balance and welfare — a place that sparks new ideas, promotes long-term growth, unlocks human potential, and improves quality of life.

Following the conclusion of Expo 2020 in March 2022, District 2020 will maintain and repurpose 80 percent of the developed assets, transforming it into a fully integrated mixed-use community.

District 2020 will function as an Urban Lab, encouraging local businesses and residents to engage in, test, review, and co-produce technologies and services that will improve urban living. Businesses can use District 2020 as a trustworthy test bed for new technologies and ideas, as well as perform pilot projects and launch pre-market products. District 2020 is equipped with the resources necessary for participation and testing, based on Dubai’s ideals of supporting innovation and improving people’ experiences in urban environments. The design intervention will be aptly relevant in the District 2020.

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Fig 5.11 Artists imagination of the exterior of the Dubai Exhibition Centre 99

THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE SPACE SHOULD BE APPEALING ENOUGH TO THE AUDIENCE THAT DRAWS THEM TOWARDS ITSELF.

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GLOBAL BEST PRACTICE PROJECTS Expo 2020 Dubai’s Global Best Practice Program 1) Inclusive and sustainable service delivery: is recognising a slew of ingenious, local solutions to problems that are affecting the globe, that may be replicated and scaled for greater global effect.

From a Norwegian programme to exchange plastic waste for money to a Bhutanese online software that calculates healthy, cost-effective school meals to a Cameroonian project to build sustainable refugee camps, all 25 projects have the potential to advance the collective impact toward the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the universally agreedupon plan of action for people and the planet’s peace and prosperity.

From solar energy to the internet, safe water to recycling, be inspired by those who are working to transform the lives of communities through reliable service provisions. Their innovations make a difference everywhere from urban areas to refugee settlements.

• • The 25 shortlisted entries were chosen by a highly • prestigious jury that included representatives from the • Bureau International des Expositions, the governing body of World Expos, the University of Cambridge, • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, World Bank, UNHabitat, UN-Water, UNDP, UNICEF, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

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Dispensers for Safe Water, Evidence Action, Kenya UNICEF Drones Programme, UNICEF, Vanuatu WADI Solar Powered Water Filtration, Helioz, Austria Big Box for the Calais Jungle Refugee Camp, Jangala, United Kingdom 20,000 Suns, Hogan Lovells and Barefoot College, India

protect their human, economic and natural assets.

• Building a Green Refugee Camp, Land Life Company, Cameroon • Conservation Cooperatives, Planet Indonesia, Indonesia • Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Uganda Projects around the world are providing the tools people need to improve their lives by promoting alternative • The Sri Lanka Mangrove Conservation Project, Seacology, Sri Lanka employment and income opportunities, women in the workplace, competitive products and services, and • Vulnerable in Vietnam, Buoyant Foundation Project, Vietnam improved market access.

• Global Plastic Waste Deposit and Tracking System, 4) Social development: Empower, Norway • Question Coffee 4 SDGs, Sustainable Growers, Rwanda • The Mountain Partnership Products Initiative, The Mountain Partnership, Peru • Digital Farmer Service, Esoko, Ghana • Electronic Rickshaw Services by Women for Women, When people have access to reliable and affordable UN Women, Nepal healthcare and education, it provides the social mobility they need to break the cycle of poverty and achieve a 3) Resilient habitats: higher quality of life.

• Creating Agents of Positive Change, The Citizens Foundation, Pakistan • Hygiene Promotion through Routine Immunization, WaterAid, Nepal • SDG Camps, UNDP, Tunisia It’s good to be prepared for change. From climate • Janma Clean Birth Kit, Ayzh, India change to rapid urbanisation, communities can cope • Fighting Neglected Tropical Diseases with Mobile Phones, Sightsavers Nigeria better with challenges and adversity through the adoption and implementation of resilience measures to 2) Livelihoods and enterprise development:

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5) Water, food and energy security:

Looking after the basics – water, food and energy – for a growing global population through smarter consumption and resource management.

• Plus School Menus, World Food Programme, Bhutan • Eco Village, Bangladesh Environment and Development Society, Bangladesh • Belize’s First Cacao Agroforestry Concession within a Protected Area, Yaaxche Conservation Trust, Belize • Agua Tica, FUNDECOR, Costa Rica • Citizen Farm, Edible Garden City, Singapore Currently, there is no physical or scaled demonstration of these projects on the Expo site. The image on the right shows the actual state of display of the Best Practice Programs - which is more like an open discussion space with panels of the 20 shortlisted projects. As compared to the advanced display methods of other pavilions, the Best Practice Areas can definetly portray in a better manner. With the evolution of the 3D, AR and VR technologies, there is no restrictive boundary for conveying the ideas of these programs beyond a write up and a few images. There is a lack of conveyance and hence less exposure is received at this pavilion as compared to the others.

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Fig 5.12 The Best Practice Area at the Dubai Expo 2020.

It is merely a section for display and discussion.

Source: Author

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Fig 5.13 The Best Practice Programme at the Expo 2020. Even if the area of display is relatively small, it can be effective in communicating the ideas more realistically. Such an effective initiative does not seek the audience’s attention as much due to the lack of representation.

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THE PROPOSAL OF THE BIE PAVILION The Bureau of International Expositions, as mentioned earlier, has multifarious functions; deciding the host countries via votes, planning and sanctioning the expos conducting aspects, and supervising the coordination and participation of member states among others.

An institution of stature as such deserves to be represented on the Expo sites. The World Expositions, Specialised Expositions, Horticultural Expositions, and Triennale Di Milano are great potential platforms to portray what the BIE is and what they do. To overlook Expos of a scale grander than any other international event is work worth commending.

The primary aim is to make the BIE visible and loudly present on the site of Expos to make it recognizable.

This could be done by representing the BIE in an architectural form of a pavilion just like other nations.

A BIE Pavilion on all Expo sites would allow for an interface to be established between the audiences and the BIE, and what better than the platform of Expos

itself.

This could pose as an opportunity to educate people about the extremely rich history of expositions as well as their relationships with the BIE. The BIE could also showcase the various solutions to pressing problems humankind has achieved through the medium of expos.

The BIE Pavilion could not only be a mirror of the past but also be a lens to foresee the future. The portrayal of future prospects could be constantly updated at the BIE Pavilion which would be on site all around the year and not only during the few month duration of the Expos. BIE could host forums in various parts of the world as the expos continue to occur at various sites and allow for global participation for common causes.

The BIE Pavilion can rise and grow due to its potential of gathering multiple nations under its auspices. If there is a multifold effect of the establishment of the BIE Pavilions, it could also generate employment opportunities.

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THE BIE PAVILION AND THE BEST PRACTICE PROGRAMME The idea is to showcase the best practice programs for and by the people, communities, organisations and enterprises around the world at the Expo platform.

Given the scale and reach of Expos, it is a great initiative during the event’s ongoing days when millions of people fly down to the host country to experience the expo.

The critical aspect is questioning what will happen to the momentum and spread of this initiative after the exposition is over, after its six months run.

The proposed BIE Pavilion will be the dedicated space for this innovations, like a laboratory for new solutions and ideas by the people. It will enable in continuing the legacy of the initiative that was born during the expo but will be continued with the same zeal and developed further optimising its usage.

that helps in connecting the various sources across the world would provide a sense of encouragement too. More the participation in producing innovative solutions, the better it is for humankind.

The foresight of having this kind of BIE Pavilion with the Best Practice Programmes continued after the expo as a platform at all world expos is in line with expanding the reach. Global challenges require global participation.

The presence of such a permanent BIE Pavilion at the various locations where expos are hosted will enable in developing a strong global network of enthusiasts who are dedicated to serve the communities, even at smaller scales.

The sense of having a platform where such ideas can be shared and cross learning can take place not only among the organisations who are pitching the ideas but also the youth and individuals who would be interested in them. A school of thought will be borne with a perpetual continuum of energy which will help in providing solutions to various global challenges.

The BIE being the governing body for all the expositions could also deploy a committee that facilitates and helps in executing the ideas generated at the Best Practice Programs continuation. The sense of having a body 107

Fig 5.14 The five sub segments of the Best Practice Programs and their aims and objectives.

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109

VI. i. The Architecture of the proposed BIE Pavilion.

VI

Architecture of the BIE Pavilion

VI. ii. The concept of the Shell and Core.

VI. iii. Typological Experimentation.

VI. iv. Programmatic Intent VI. v. Area Statement Vi. vi. Dismantle-ability aspects

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ARCHITECTURE OF THE BIE PAVILION The architecture of the BIE Pavilion is imaged to be in the form of a core and a shell. The idea of having the pavilion in two parts is that it can be made separately.

The core would take shape after the event of the expo since it would be made of the materials of the dismantled pavilions at the expo. The core would be the heart of the expo since it would be born out of the material remnants of the event and truly hold the legacy of the event in that city tangibly. By the virtue of it, it could portray a glimpse of the expo held along with its historical portrayal and also keep itself updated with passing time in order to be relevant to the crowds.

The spatial concept of the outer and inner indulges in a juxtaposition of distinct tangible layers along with functional unity while being different architecturally.

The Shell would be a framework structure that would allow architects to continue experimenting on their works at small scales throughout the years and not only pertaining to the expo. The shell would be like an architect’s playground with equipments of the playground in place - that would enable the architects to have an abstract framework to build on.

Just like how the slide or the swing is an equipment that facilitates the action, the shell would have architectural forms that facilitate the execution of design ideas. The framework is no longer a factor that needs to be concealed in contemporary aesthetics, 111

but a vital factor to set the rhythm and space for the architectural experimentations. Giving a platform for budding architects to freely be able to express and play with their designs in a physical, tangible form would be a great learning for them as well as allow audience critiques along with peers interaction. A field like this in every country that the expo hosts, would be a treat for young architects.

The core and the shell might be detached from one another. These structures would seem to be caught in their own continuum, poised between one form and the other, each would be individual in nature. Despite this, there would be a constant flow of energy between them.

The site within the Dubai Expo 2020 would be the main entrance plaza, along with the Dubai Exhibition Centre. The Expo site is planned thoroughly to become District 2020.Expo 2020 Dubai will evolve into District 2020, a smart and sustainable metropolis focused on the requirements of its urban community. Following the World Expo’s six-month run, District 2020 will repurpose 80% of the Expo’s built environment into an integrated mixed-use city that will continue to attract businesses and people to work, live, visit, and enjoy.

Such a strategic site would assure a constant footfall of visitors owing to the DEC as well as the main entrance to the District 2020. The Metro Station enables visitors to directly hop off right outside the site making it easily accessible for everybody.

Such a BIE Pavilion in every country that hosts the expositions would exponentially increase the reach of the BIE directly to the audiences and also pose itself as a platform for the exchange of ideas and information.

It would potentially create a global network of diverse communities and each with a physical presence of its own.

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ARCHITECTS HAVE THE ABILITY TO DESIGN ICONS. TO CREATE MARVELS. EXPOS AS A PLATFORM CAN BE AN ARCHITECTS PLAYGROUND.

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THE SHELL - THE ARCHITECT’S PLAYGROUND The fact that architecture plays the role of the protagonist in the event of expos is evident as it existed as one of the most highly publicised modes of architectural expression between the mid-1800s and late 1900s.

Expos is a stage for mass production of small-scale architecture by different architects and artists around the world. This culmination of architectural display in terms of pavilions or other installation forms, for a temporary duration of 6 months makes it an architect’s playground. The freedom that small-scale temporary architecture grants is like the joy of candy for a child to an architect. The expression of ideas, values, and innovations is much louder in such pavilion architecture typologies. It allows the designer to freely express via the design itself and not be bound by the parameters that are considered in permanent architecture. The joy of designing is in the architect’s primary interest and hence the playground allows that to take center stage and the other necessary mechanical and service-oriented functions can follow and adapt within the primary design. Each new Expo 115

has provided architects with the opportunity to express bold ideas and use these events as a creative playground for testing ambitious design and building technology advancements throughout history. World's fairs invariably foster competition, with each country attempting to put its best foot forward at all costs. This carte blanche of sorts permits architects to bypass many of the programmatic constraints that come with regular commissions and focus instead on expressing ideas in their most authentic form. Many masterworks, such as Mies van der Rohe' German Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona Exposition, are so dedicated to their conceptual approach that they could only exist as part of an Exposition pavilion.

These social and material cycles manifested themselves in new urban design, civic amenities, transportation, and landscaping. (Minty, London's New Public Buildings, 210-218. 210).

THE CORE - MATERIAL MATRIX OF EXPO PAVILIONS The pavilion’s post expo conditions and the material study conclude that a lot of the material could potentially be reused extensively. The thesis aims to provide for a structure that is made out of the materials from the dismantled pavilions.

The expo host nations plan for the site usage after the expo, but all the pavilions do not undergo a standardised treatment or process post expos. The possibility of resuing the materials in the core of the BIE Pavilion will ensure a sustainable outcome of the pavilions’ architectonics which could otherwise be roughly dismantled. The materials could become the tangible legacy of the event of expos and would be under the auspices of the BIE after the Expo. The idea of retaining the material is also to continue imparting the various innovations and advancements that the nations display at the expos. They should not only be on display for others to see but also be executed longterm. This core could be an example setting for such temporary displays afterlife.

The core could become a prototype for future constructions. The material palette could become a potential reference base or library for architects and designers to refer to for future designs. The idea of having all the materials curated in one place, in a pavilion is to enable the extended use of these materials. These specific materials used in the expo pavilions are reportedly matched with the specific sustainability guidelines laid out by the expos which are in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). (Sustainability Report Expo 2020, 2019) The Core would be developed after the run of the expos. This would provide an opportunity for the core to programmatically give a glimpse of the expo held on site at a smaller scale. A miniature exhibition for the visitors to view all around the year and be more permanent in nature. The idea is to have a visual and experiential exhibit of the history of expositions and their evolution so the visitors can have a sense of the historic richness of expos. After the expo, this exhibit can be clad in the materials of the pavilions, making it a holistic legacy bearer.

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117

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TYPOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTATIONS The experimentations of forms in terms of functional configurations has opened the possibilities of the same plan form to be utilised for various functions.

The space for discussions having round tables and a raised central platform for delivering ideas can be reconfigured internally to function as a cafe for example. With temporary stalls and kitchen equipments, the same round tables can be used for a cafe layout.

The main aim to achieve such multifunctional spaces is to maximize the utility of the spaces as well as allow it to mould its functions according to the requirements of time. To be able to adapt to the necessities in terms of spatial arrangements as and when required is the primary architectural aim. It would be a space for the people, where they will be allowed to decide upon the required spatial arangement and if it would be achievable, it would be rearranged.

Principally, to have a long lasting structure with a program that demands flexibility of scales of spaces owing to its experimental aspects would require such multifunctional spaces.

Fig 5.15 The possibilites of internal configurations as per the requirements of the function housed. (Above) The arrangements of round tables for a discussion space. (Below) The arrangements of the same tables in a restaurant layout.

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In a similar pattern of having apadtive spatial configurations, a conference room could also be converted into an intense work space where multiple people can collaboratively work. The nature of spaces also drastically changes with the change in internal arrangements.

Usually this similar phenomena can be noticed in different floor plans of a building, where the floor plate essentially is the same throughout. All levels have different fnctions but are adapted in the same kind of area and floor space.

What if these various floors could be functionally merged, resulting in lesser number of floors in totality. Having an open plan allows for more combinations and possibilities.

Fig 5.16 The possibilites of internal configurations as per the requirements of the function housed. (Above) The arrangements of conference tables in a conventional formal way. (Below) The arrangements of the tables in a layout for co-working space.

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THE IDEA OF FLEXIBLE SPACES The Sendai Mediatheque is a cultural media centre in Japan, by Toyo Ito Associates in 2001. The nteresting fact about this structure is that the different floor levels are designed by different designers and architects.

The main inference is that how different people, as per different programs visualise a similar floor plate There does not necessarily have to be a predominant design layout. The number of variations that would program assigned to the space. It could be an open, be possible in such a space is rather interesting while fluid space, free to use by the inhabitants however they being challenging too. require it. The space is expected to be adaptive to the necessities.

The primary idea is to understand systemmatically how the same space can be inhabited differently.

Varying number of inhabitants, varying methods of communication in the space and interior furniture layouts all contribute to the aspects of a space as such.

Fig 5.17 Flexible furniture arrangement - Same space can be used to host a range of events

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Fig 5.18 Each plan of the Sendai Mediatheque is free form, as the structural column lattices are independent of the facade and fluctuate in diameter as they stretch from floor to floor. .

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70 10

6

6

ITERATIONS OF TYPOLOGICAL CONFIGURATIONS

10

6

The idea is to understand the structural grids of various spaces and see how the space can be transformed if the functions change. The aim is to find an optimal way to use the given space, at all habited hours and throughout the year as well. Here, several spaces have been explored in terms of the spatial grid and how they would suit in the core or the shell spaces; or in between. It leaves the number of posiblities open even for future reconfigurations if required.

OFFICE TYPOLOGY

Fig 5.19. Typological Experimentations. Plans on scale 1:1000

70 10

10

6.25 6.25

6.25

10

Approximate hours of usage per day

LIBRARY TYPOLOGY

10

60

PROMENADE TYPOLOGY

123

6

11

50

11

6

CANOPY TYPOLOGY

MALL TYPOLOGY

14

12.5

12.5

14

EXHIBITION TYPOLOGY

60

14

10

8

10

SEMINAR HALL TYPOLOGY

7

7

49

12

3 10

3

12

7

THE CORE THE SHELL MARKET TYPOLOGY

SHELL COMPONENTS

124

PROGRAMMATIC INTENT

Visitors

USER GROUPS IDENTIFICATION The site itself will invite a wide range of users owing to its predominant nature. There will be visitors and business opportunities seekers coming to the Dubai Exhibition Centre. The residents of the District 2020 which is the future of the Expo 2020 site, will inhabit the space.

There will be a fleeting population of people who would work at the District 2020 and have their workspaces there.

The design intervention will add to the group of users of the particular space. It is aimed at being a space for experimentation and mindful discussions.

Innovators, enthusiastic citizens, students with creative ideas and global reformers would form the core of participating users. Philanthropists, professionals from different practices, entrepreneurs and investors would form the core of enablers.

• Philanthropists • Professionals from various fields •Entrepreneurs Investors •

Enablers

USER GROUPS

Participants

• Innovators •Enthusiastic citizens •Students with creative ideas • Academians

1. Open Platform for Engagement Hosting visitors belonging to diverse sections of the world, these spaces foster interaction amongst them.

2. Social Bonding in an age of virtual distancing, spending time together in these public spaces encourages a sense of collectiveness.

3. Productive Leisure While encouraging informal behaviour, these spaces can also serve as places for collaborations and discussions - which when done under no external obligation, can become more efficient and fruitful.

4. Generation of Social Capital By means of discussions and interaction, people can also hone new skills and open themselves to diverse opinions and views.

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PROGRAM COMPONENTS BIE + Best Practice Area Exhibition = Integrated space for displays and experiments

Centre for Experimentation and Learning

Attracts tourists and visitors

Attracts local artists, innovators and entrepreneurs

Discussion of Best Practice Programs throughout the year + Incubator for Best practice Programs and Maker’s spaces + BIE as the governing body in alliance with UN Habitat’s SDGs + Experimental display space for architects, designers and artists + Exhibition spaces of various scales + Meeting Pods and Seminar Spaces and Digital Labs

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USERS

SPACES

PARTICIPANTS:

BIE Office

Innovators Students Artists

Best Practice Program Display Best Practice Program Discussion space Incubator space

Architects Exhibition spaces Academians Entrepreneurs BIE Officials

Seminar spaces Meeting rooms Library

ENABLERS

Digital Lab Architects Playground

Visitors Residents of District 2020

Experimentation spaces Workshops

Working class people Global citizens 127

Documentation Centre

SPATIAL CONFIGURATIONS The division of spaces and functions between the core and the shell would not be very rigid. A primary method of segregating functions would be adopted but the rest would be flexible. Naturally, the more private functions will be housed within the core and the public engaging functions will be in and around the shell.

Shell Core

Public Private The idea of the core and shell and its programmatic division.

Fig 5.20 (Left) Nodal Organisation of social spaces within trade shows. (Right) Relationship of spaces within conventional trade shows.

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AREA STATEMENT No. Facility

Unit Area (sq.m)

No. of Units

Total Area

Workstations

3.7

500

1850

Conference Room

50

7

350

Meeting Rooms

25

15

375

1 BIE Office 1.1 Workspace

Total 1.2 Cafe

250

1

2575 250

Total

250

1.3 Admin and Staff Areas Staff Office

14

25

350

Reception Area

50

5

250

600

1

600

Server Rooms

Total

1200

1.4 Stay facility for delegates Rooms

50

10

500

Lounge Space

60

1

60 Total

560

2 Best Practice Programme Areas 2.1 Best Practice Programme Display area

200

1

200

Best Practice Programme working area

400

1

400

Discussion Rooms

100

4

400

Equipment storage

30

3

90 Total

2.2 Visitor Information Centre Incubator Space

129

1090

70

1

70

150

2

300 Total

370

3 Multipurpose Area 3.1 Multipurpose Hall (200 people x 2sqm pp) Pop-up Events Space

400

1

400

100

3

300 Total

3.2 Performance space

700

400

1

400

Seating Area (1.2 sqm per person)

600

1

600

Backstage areas

100

1

100

Equipment storage

30

3

90 Total

1190

4 Exhibition Area 4.1 Exhibition space - Core (permanent)

700

1

700

Exhibition space - Shell (Flexible)

600

3

1800 Total

4.2 Storage studios

50

3

2500 150

Total

150

5 Library 5.1 Library Area Study Carrels

800

1

800

3.25

100

325 Total

6 Documentation Centre

500

1

1125 500

Total

500

6.1 Multimedia Library Reception and admin area Virtual resources (public access computer stations) Public access catalogue stations

150

1

150

4

50

200

2.7

50

135 Total

Grand Total

485 12700

Circulation Area = 35% of total area

4445

Services Area = 50% of total area

8575

Total Build Up Area

25720

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Fig 5.21 The kind of spaces imagined with interative displays and demonstrations of the Best Practice Programme.

Source: Author

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THE PROCESS OF DISMANTLING The Core and the Shell both would have one feature in common, which is the dismantling process. The process of disassembly of parts should also be something that could use technological advancements. The art of giving a new form to the same material tectonics should be explored and experimented with. The core would primarily allow the acts of dismantling the pavilions of the expo and reassembling them, together into one new structure.

The core would be born out of the dismantled materials of the pavilions at the expos. This affair itself could be a process since it is a less explored field in the realm of architecture. The dismantleability aspects are often considered while designing the pavilions and statements are made that the materials can be reused, but nothing is defined. If the core is a designated structure that will take shape off the materials of the pavilions then it enables the participating nations to also design their pavilions suitable for the afterlife too.

The shell too would allow for a similar stage to be created where the architects could come and portray their designs. The idea of allowing designers to exhibit their work would also mandatorily ask them to portray how they disassemble their work after the displayoffering various scales of works to be dismantled as well as allow for innovative design ideas that incorporate the later process too. The shell would be a space where dismantability as an architectural practice will be explored.

The cyclical expiration of technologies was referred to by the temporality and expendability of each subsequent presentation.

The enclosure for the 1851 Great Exhibition would have been the initial phase when architecture was deployed to display technology. The Crystal Palace was the title given to the Great Exhibition building, which was constructed by architect Joseph Paxton.

It served as a solidification or depiction of the full technological capabilities available to civilization at the time, both architecturally and technologically.

The international exposition’s role was effectively communicated through the Crystal Palace. (Moleta, 2010) Hence the notion of legacy in the form of adaptive architecture would be apt for the event of expositions.

The architecture will not be binding and standardized for every expo, as one would expect legacy to be. It will rather be of a freeing nature, allowing the architects to express. The functional principal ideas will be the core of the legacy which will be reiterated at every expo but will not be bound to the replication of the previous legacy bearer. It will adopt the changes of time and requirements of the crowd.

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133 Fig 5.22 The Country Pavilions at Expo 2020 Dubai

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List of Figures

135

Chapter 1 Figures:

Chapter 2 Figures:

1.0 1.1

2.1 Timeline - Source: Author 2.2 Timeline - Source: Author 2.3 Hall of Machines, 1889 Expo Source: wikipedia.org 2.4.a 1876 Cennetial Expo Source: ebayimg.com 2.4.b The Great Exhibition, London 1851 Source: wordpress.com 2.5 1933 Worlds fair street view Source: calumet412.com 2.6. Crytal Palace vault raising Source: victorianweb.org 2.7 Charles Burton drawing Source: lookandlearn.com 2.8 World Map Illustration Source: Author

Photo Montage- Source: Author Opening Ceremony at Crystal Palace Source: Getty images, CNN 1.2.a The Great ExhibitionSource: Getty Images 1.2.b George Cruikshank’s Illustration Source: pinceton.edu 1.3 Photo Montage- Source: Author 1.4 Buckminster Fuller’s Dome Source: sciencephoto.com 1.5 Germany Pavilion at expo 67 Source; Worldarchitecture.org 1.6 The Crystal palace Source: wordpress.com 1.7 The Eiffel Tower Source: wordpress.com 1.8 Street view of Louisiana Expo 1904 Source: britannica.com 1.9 Flags of member states of BIE Source: wikimedia.org 1.10 Functions of BIE Source: bie-paris.org 1.11 Functions of BIE Source: bie-paris.org 1.12 Photo Montage- Source: Author 1.13 Photo Montage- Source: Author

Chapter 3 Figures:

Chapter 4 Figures:

Chapter 5 Figures:

3.1 3.2 3.3

4.0 4.1

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4

3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15

Photo Montage- Source: Author Photo Montage- Source: Author The Sky Ride, Chicago Source: wikipedia.org Milan Expo failures Source: dezeen.com Seville Expo aftermath Source: Forbes.com Photo Montage- Source: Author La Ronde, Montreal Source: blooloop.com China Art Museum Source: sina.com The Palace of Fine Arts Source: wikipedia.org Jackson Park, Chicago Source: architecture.org Flushing Meadows Park, New York Source: newyorkcity.fandom.com Modele City, Belgium Source: bruzz.be Hannover Messe, Germany Source: 10times.com Expo Village, Milan Source: archiexpo.com The New York State Pavilion Source: pinterest.com

Photo Montage- Source: Author Map of Belgium Source: bie-paris.org 4.2 Map of Seville Source: bie-paris.org 4.3 Map of Seville Expo 1992 Source: pinterest.co.uk 4.4 Photo Montage- Source: Author 4.5 Milan Expo aftermath Source: inexhibit.com 4.6 Palace de l’Industrie Source: pinterest.com 4.7 Palace de l’Industrie Source: cartel.com 4.8 The global best practice programme Source: Author, base image:wsp.com 4.9 MVRDV Expo Pavilion Source: 24oranges.com, archdaily.com 4.10 MVRDV Expo Pavilion 2.0 Source: archdaily.com 4.11 MVRDV Expo Pavilion 2.0 Source: archdaily.com 4.12 MVRDV Expo Pavilion 2.0 Source: archdaily.com 4.13 Save the Children Italy Pavilion Source: archdaily.com 4.14 - 4.20 Jarahieh School, Lebanon Source: archdaily.com

Photo Montage- Source: Author Photo Montage- Source: Author Photo Montage- Source: Author Al Wasl Plaza Source: gulfnews.com 5.5 Location map of Expo 2020 Edited by Author. Base Map: district2020.ae 5.6 Map of Expo 2020 Source: expo2020dubai.com 5.7 Map of Expo 2020 Source: expo2020dubai.com 5.8 View of Dubai Exhibition Centre Source: visitdubai.com 5.9 View of the Site Source: expo2020dubai.com 5.10 The DEC and Metro station Source: sunrise.ug 5.11 Illustration of DEC Source: indiatimes.com 5.12 The Best Practice Area at Dubai Expo Base image: Rhea Shanghvi 5.13 The Best Practice Area at Dubai Expo Base image: Rhea Shanghvi 5.14 Best Practice Programs Source: expo2020dubai.com 5.15 - 5.16 Typology diagrams -Source: Author 5.17 Typology diagram Source: Aniruddh Sharan’s thesis reference - The Third Space 5.18 Sendai Mediatheque Source: archdaily.com 5.19 Typology configurations - Source: Author 5.20 Organisational modes. - Source: Author 5.21 Expo live at Dubai 2020 Base images: Rhea Shanghvi 5.22 Pavilions at Expo 2020 Dubai Source: expo2020dubai.com 136

Betts, Raymond F. (1980) “Structuring the Ephemeral: The Cultural Significance of World’s Fair Architecture,” The Kentucky Review: Vol. 2 : No. 1 , Article 4.

Lea Petrović Krajnik, July 2019. Changes in the urban landscape of Expo cities https://www.bie-paris.org/site/en/blog/entry/changes-in-the-urban-landscape-of-expocities

Mark Wilson, December 2018. Temporary Events with Lasting Impacts https://bie-paris.org/site/en/focus/entry/expos-temporary-events-with-lasting-impacts/

Global Best Practice Programme Small Steps Big Leaps: Solutions for Sustainable Impact https://www.expo2020dubai.com/en/news/20190929-global-best-practice-programme

References

Sustainability Report Expo 2020, 2019. https://w w w.expo2020dubai.com/-/media/expo2020/sustainability/expo2020sustainability-report-2019-en.pdf

Patrick De Groote, 2019. A multidisciplinary analysis of world fairs and their effects, December 2005Tourism Review 60(1):12-19.

Exposition, societal responsivity and the aesthetics of impermanence Temporal findings from the 1970 world exhibition, Tane Jachob Moleta, 2010 RICCARDO BIANCHINI - 2017-04-12. Dismantling EXPO Milan – The dark side of temporary architecture Expo 2020 Dubai Call For ‘Best Practices For A Better 2030’, 2019.

Vicente G Loscertales, Encyclopaedia of World’s Fairs and Expositions. ix.

Budden, The Relation of Exposition Planning to Civic Design.153-162.

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Tane Jachob Moleta, Exposition, societal responsitivity and the aesthetics of impermanence [Temporal findings from the 1970 world exhibition] Victoria University of Wellington, 2010.

Pieter van Wesemael, Architecture of Instruction and Delight: A Socio-historical Analysis of World Exhibitions as a Didactic Phenomenon (1798-1851-1970) Trapp, F. A. (1965). The Universal Exhibition of 1855. The Burlington Magazine, 107(747), 300–305. http://www. jstor.org/stable/874679 Minty, E. A. (1907). London’s New Public Buildings. The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, 10(46), 210–218. http://www.jstor.org/stable/856862 Design for Dismantling and Reuse of an Exhibition Pavilion, Germany May 2001Structural Engineering International 11(2):116-119 Álvaro Santos, 2019. EXPO 92 AND TERRITORIAL TRANSFORMATION OF SEVILLA METROPOLIS, SEOUL MAY 27-31, 2002. The impact of major events on the development of large cities.

Friebe, W. (1985) Buildings of the World Exhibitions. Editions Leipzig, Leipzig 224 p.

McKean, J. (1994) Crystal Palace . Phaidon Press Ltd, London, 60 p.

Pinot de Villechenon, F. (1992) Les Expositions Universelles. Collection Que sais-je ? 2659, PUF, Paris, 126 p Conrad De Aenlle, 2015. World’s Fairs and Their Legacies.

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