Architectural features of the Chinese National Pavilion at the Milan World Expo 2015 in Italy

Talking about the design of the Chinese Pavilion, Song Jie, one of the designers and vice president of Beijing Qing Shang Architectural Design Institute, said, "The biggest feature is the strong artistry. At the same time, the novel architectural form and innovative building materials also enhance the expressive power of the Chinese Pavilion. The design concepts and ideas all came from artists at the Academy of Fine Arts at Tsinghua University." In the front area of the China Pavilion, there is an outdoor garden landscape of about 1,000 square meters. It was a field with the characteristics of a typical Chinese agricultural civilization. The field densely covered with crops and plants is inlaid with the Temple of the First Peasant with the function of a stage, the red wall of the Forbidden City with the function of a stage backdrop, the hutongs of Beijing with the function of evacuation, and the imagery of a river with the function of a main channel. These landscape elements echo with the mountain-type buildings, presenting a magnificent landscape of the Chinese earth.

The landscaping of the front area of the China Pavilion was constructed by Beijing Municipality to publicize the World Horticultural Expo to be held in Yanqing, Beijing, in 2019.

The Tsing Shang Design Institute is part of Tsinghua University's Tsinghua Habitat Construction Group, formerly known as Tsinghua Gongmei Environmental Art Design Institute, which was founded by renowned architects and educators and specializes in architectural design, interior design, and environmental art design. at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, Tsing Shang was involved in the construction of the Future Pavilion and the China Aviation Enterprise Pavilion. Milan World Expo was held from May 1 to October 31, with the theme of "Nourishing the Earth, Energy for Life", focusing on agriculture, food and foodstuffs. 148 countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation. The China Pavilion, which looks like a golden wave of wheat, covers an area of 4,590 square meters and is the second largest foreign pavilion in the Milan Expo area. The largest German pavilion has 4,900 square meters.

While the Chinese Pavilion was the runner-up after the German Pavilion, if we add the Chinese Enterprise Joint Pavilion with the theme of "Chinese Seeds" and more than 1,200 square meters, and the Vanke Pavilion with the theme of "Canteen" and 900 square meters, the total*** is about 6,700 square meters. ** About 6,700 square meters of exhibition area, making China the largest overall participation in the Milan World Expo.

The China Pavilion roof has three layers from the bottom up, referred to as the "sandwich": the main structure consists of glued wood (steel and wood), the main structure is covered with PVC waterproofing layer, and supported by the sunshade bamboo panels, the uppermost layer of bamboo strips spliced together by the sunshade skin. The bamboo material covering the roof is designed to correspond to the sunlight trajectory in Milan, and the choice of bamboo facings with different light transmittance allows natural light to be introduced into the interior, which meets the lighting needs and reduces energy consumption, in line with the concept of sustainable development.

In the multilateral international stage of the World Expo, to comprehensively introduce the history, current situation and future of China's agriculture, food and food culture, and to show China's unremitting efforts to effectively utilize its resources, guarantee food security and provide sufficient, healthy and high-quality food, is precisely the purpose of the China Pavilion's "Fields of Hope, Sources of Life".

China Pavilion

The exhibition of the China Pavilion is divided into five major zones, namely, "Order, Heaven, Earth, People and Harmony". "Earth" exhibition area in the "looking back to the field" part, is the biggest attraction of the China Pavilion science and technology embodiment. Giant LED fiber optic dot matrix, composed of tens of thousands of artificial "straw". Each "straw" at the top of the "wheat" is a computer program can control the LED luminous body. Through the high and low staggered, sparse and dense layout, a "wheat ears" constitute a huge with a three-dimensional sense of dynamic field picture, with a strong visual impact. The "sandwich" roof

The Milan Expo was the first time that China went overseas to build a pavilion in the form of a self-built pavilion. As the exhibition spanned the spring, summer and fall seasons, the roof of the China Pavilion had to be light and the internal space span had to be large, taking into account the need for energy conservation, environmental protection and construction convenience, so the roof was made of plywood-based structure.

The mascots, "Hehe" and "Mengmeng", are modeled after the Chinese folk clay sculpture "Daafu". The body of "Hehe" is derived from the character "口" in the Chinese character "和", and he is holding a grain of rice, which embodies the character "禾". The hieroglyphic composition of "禾" and "口" represents the relationship between food and human beings in Chinese culture. "Mengmeng" takes its symbolism to express the Chinese people's longing for the future, and her traditional elements such as crochets, gold hoops and bellybands make the Chinese imagery of the mascot more prominent and distinctive.

At the same time, light diffuses into the room through the bamboo skin, spreading mottled projections on the PVC waterproof layer. The projections change with the seasons and the time of day, giving it an artistic and romantic flavor.

Song Jie said that there is a deep academic relationship and the same artistic heritage between the Tsinghua University Academy of Arts and Design and the Tsinghua University Academy of Fine Arts. During the design process of the China Pavilion at the Milan World Expo, the two organizations worked closely together and cooperated intensively in the pre-program design, construction drawings, deepening design and post-service. "This is a successful practice for institutions of higher learning to create domestic high-end design standards through the combination of production, learning and research". The exhibition of China Pavilion is divided into five exhibition areas, namely "Sequence, Heaven, Earth, People and Harmony", focusing on China's splendid and long-lasting agricultural civilization, the profound food culture, and conveying the idea of China's adherence to sustainable development. The exhibition space is created in a "Loft" style, with an open dining area on the first floor and a banquet hall, audio-visual room and VIP room on the second floor.

In terms of building materials, the China Pavilion adheres to the concept of sustainable development and environmental protection, and creates an indoor space that is close to nature. In the open dining area on the first floor, the floor is made of simple materials such as polished concrete and resin paint, which, combined with the endless "wheat field" landscape, emphasizes the original design concept of being close to nature. The walls are finished with simple and natural pine boards, which are flat, sturdy, lightweight and have low formaldehyde emissions.

On the second floor, the banquet hall with the theme of "summer" is full of passionate colors. The screens are movable and are inspired by the Chinese folk art of bamboo weaving. When a guest of honor is seated, the screen can be closed so that each guest can have a seat against the wall, which is a Chinese dining etiquette, and all eight parties can be seated, which is in line with Chinese dining etiquette.

The audio-visual room, also on the second floor, is themed on the "terraces" that reflect the wisdom and diligence of the ancient Chinese laborers, with backless chairs set up along the contour of the sloping floor in sections, which is simple, modern and comfortable. The carpet takes the theme of "Spring Equinox and Grain Rain", which is one of China's 24 unique festivals, and is green and refreshing, making the audience feel as if they were in the middle of nature.

The design of the VIP room on the second floor incorporates the elements of land and trees, with a carpet with the theme of "Golden Autumn", a tapestry with the theme of "Unending Life", and accessories that incorporate the elements of the 24 solar terms, so as to artistically integrate the culture of China's unique solar terms with the interior exhibition. The exhibition will be held at the same time as the exhibition.

The "People" theme area in the China Pavilion is the focus of specific exhibits, which are divided into "Agricultural Civilization", "Food for the People", "Wisdom for the Future" and "The Future", The "People" theme area is the focus of specific exhibits, divided into three major sections, namely "Agricultural Civilization", "Food for the People" and "Wisdom for the Future", with 11 representative exhibits. For example, the section on Beijing presents the process of making roast duck at Quanjude through clay modeling and paper-cutting or Chinese painting, which is a close-up demonstration of Beijing's intangible cultural heritage.

The designers from Tsinghua University also designed the mascot and logo (L0GO) for the China Pavilion at the Milan World Expo. The logo of the China Pavilion is the outline and curve of nature outlined with lines and surfaces, with blue representing the sky, green representing the fields, gold representing grain, and red representing people and life. The undulating lines are rhythmic and resemble the "mountains" of the main building of the China Pavilion, reflecting the overall design concept of "heaven, earth, people and harmony". Song Jie said, for the design of the China Pavilion, Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts and Tsinghua Design Institute invested nearly 100 people, after more than two years of design, nearly a year of construction. Now, many of the main designers are still in Milan for the China Pavilion continued service.