For the upcoming Expo Milan 2015, the country of France envisioned their pavilion as a covered market. A competition was held to design the space with the winning entry coming from X-TU architects. They centered the 3,600 square meter building around the concept of “producing and nurturing in another way,” which relates to the Expo’s tagline of “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.” We’ve previously seen that China’s pavilion for the event resembles waves of wheat. France too has an imaginative design that instead utilizes a light-weight lattice structure whose construction methods ensure that it can be disassembled and reused after the exposition.
The ground floor is a hub of activity where a range of herbs, vegetables, and hops are planted throughout the fertile marketplace; it plays on the idea of production and caring for all that pass through. Attendees can dine upstairs at a terraced restaurant that harvests and serves the pavilion’s fresh produce. Additionally, there is a small boutique that offers a variety of French food, along with a demonstration zone for a hands-on approach to the country’s signature style of cooking.
The project seeks to find a solution for self-sufficiency, taking into account that there will be an estimated 9 billion people living on earth by 2050. There’s a need for additional production methods that foster better nourishment. The pavilion’s design is seen as a metaphor for a physical place where new perspectives on food and nutrition can grow and ultimately influence the world for the better.
