ZEMCH 2015 - International Conference Proceedings | Page 479

Architecture of national pavilions
As already mentioned all nations listed in table 1 have been required to build a temporary building for Expo 2015, which is going to last from May to October 2015. At the end of the event structures must be dismantled and moved away in six months. This request is surely the reason why
the most important aspect in designing is to ensure an easy construction and a fast dismantling.
Palazzo Italia represents an exception: this construction with the Tree of life is going to remain on
the site, so they are designed to be permanently where they actually are.
Regardless of this issue, this section’s goal is to observe how nations interpreted the guidelines
and what they preferred to communicate through the pavilion. In fact some nations used the
pavilion to evocate the theme of Expo, other preferred to evocate their national symbols, developing the architectural elements that show a specific know-how or building technology.
Italian pavilion includes Palazzo Italia and a series of temporary buildings onto the Cardo. This
construction is the occasion to develop the theme of sustainability through a new technology: for
the construction it has been adopted innovative and sustainable materials: the external façade
of Palazzo Italia is composed of 900 biodynamic concrete panels with TX Active Technology (Italcementi’s patent). This dynamic material permits the creation of complex shapes and helps in air
pollution reduction furthermore it is made of 80 % recycled aggregates (marble, cement).

Figure 1 – Palazzo Italia (expo2015.org)
Japan pavilion represents another symbolic architecture, since it provides a three-dimensional
self-supporting façade made out of laminated wood with a technique typical of Japan building
culture. This construction embeds simple elements in a complex grid made using a “compressive
strain method” in which joints consists only of carved wood, without metal couplers, for support.
Japanese designers have been able to fuse the ancient techniques of their tradition with the technology to reach the goal of sustainability. In fact the elements of the façade help maintain the
comfort generating a shaded environment with natural day-light.

The pavilions of Expo 2015 in Milan

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