The centrepiece of the UK's offering is the extraordinary pavilion building - a six storey high object formed from some 60,000 slender transparent rods, which will extend from the structure and quiver in the breeze. During the day, each of these 7.5m long rods will act like fibre optic filaments, drawing on daylight to illuminate the interior, thereby creating a contemplative awe-inspiring space. At night, light sources at the interior end of each rod will allow the whole structure to glow. The pavilion will sit on a landscape looking like paper that once wrapped the building and that now lies unfolded on the site. The landscape provides an open space for public events and shelter for visitors making their way into the pavilion structure.
Inside the pavilion building is a visual representation of the UK's leading role in conservation worldwide - Kew's Millennium Seed Bank partnership - the largest collection of wild plant seeds in the world. Visitors will access the 'Seed Cathedral' by a series of walkways, the content of which will depict the role of nature in UK cities in the past, present and in the future.
This design is already coming to life. Construction was formally started in March on China's annual national tree planting day; the UK being one of the first self-build countries to start work on site. Heatherwick Studio is acting in partnership with Mace, the consultancy and construction company, to build the structure.
Thomas Heatherwick comments: "The Expo in Shanghai will be an amazing event; around 200 countries competing for the attention of 70 million visitors. Our task is to make the UK pavilion stand out. We decided to do this by making one extraordinary object; not recognisable in conventional terms, set in a calm open site. Each visitor will be able to explore both in their own way. Rather than making a straightforward advert for the UK, we want our pavilion to give each person a more profound understanding of the richness of contemporary UK culture."
Chris Bryant, Foreign Office Minister responsible for the UK Shanghai Expo presence, said: "Thomas Heatherwick's pavilion structure will showcase 21st century UK as a vibrant and dynamic country full of imagination and panache. I am sure it will inspire the Chinese public to learn more about the UK and its wealth of opportunities across business, education, tourism and beyond. The Shanghai Expo is a chance to show China that the UK is a world leader in creative design; this pavilion is a big first step to achieving that."
(Jim Evans)
