World Exhibition in Shanghai

Text and photos: Pál Lővei

Spanyolország pavilonja (terv: Benedetta Taglianue)

„History has accelerated”– this observation by Pierre Nora initiating research into places of recollection and referring to the fact that the perception of things tend to topple over into past sooner and sooner already refers to the present in Shanghai. The 2010 World Exhibition had entered the musealized past in the very moment of its opening, in accordance with the organizers’ intention by integrating it into the 19th- and 20th-century object-assemblage of the Expo Museum and including the present just commencing in the sound and light shows of iconic buildings of previous exhibitions. The systematically constructed past of Expo 2010 was conceived in the spirit of records: China intended to organize the world exhibition on the largest area boasting of the largest number of participants of all times.
Some of the records set up by Shanghai seemingly depended on the willingness of those invited to participate, but actually it was based on the development of the organizing country in the past 25 years. It is not by chance that no mention of the world economic crisis was heard of apropos of the expo. The total population of the countries staying away from the exhibition is appr. 15 millions, that is only 0.25 percent of mankind at present. There is no other country in the world where a world exhibition could be organized with such completeness. Every state is trying to be on friendly terms with China. Participation in Shanghai was thus the optional minimum: it was simply impossible to be left out and miss it. Those having the capacity to do so ambitioned to distinguish themselves from the crowd. In this respect it was quite a news-worthy event that Hungary was second to sign the declaration of intention to participate in 2007. Later on it took a genuine production for a participant to get into the focus of attention, mainly by a pavillion of individual design also included as a specialty on the map of the exhibition – this is what 41 countries did besides the organizer.
The situation is best characterized by the pavillion of Great Britain, much like a poster would do. One of the most exciting buildings of the expo, it is based on a slightly folded plate, actually an opened wrapping paper from which a flattened sphere-like creation emerges, like a gift meant for the people of China. Its wall is pierced by 60,000 transparent plastic thorns, outwardly creating the tracery of the graphic axes of the British flag as a result of interference. In the evening the thorns function as optical fibres channelling the lights of interior illumination to the outside cladding the building-object into mysterious fulguration. The dense net of protruding poles envelop the interior with a black-and-white abstract pattern of light and shadow. On a closer look we can see the new „microscopic” scale of the thorns: when casting them various seeds were integrated in their ends creating a pattern with their circular forms to contrast the square profiles of the poles (this is why the structure bears the name „Seed Cathedral”).

Economic and business relations exerted deep influence on the images of national pavillions. That of Australia slightly evokes the red Ayers Rock, whilst its rusty iron-plating also refers to the fact that the country is the most important iron exporter for China. Germany, the forwarder of the technology of the magnetic trains to the airport of Shanghai and the high-speed trains with several hundred kilometer long lines opened in the past few months and Saudi Arabia interested in oil export to China are popularizing themselves with huge pavillions. Originally the USA had planned to participate in a modest way, just like it did in 1958 preparing for the Brussels world exhibition, but then changed this attitude after receiving news about the large-scale ambitions of the Soviet Union to exhibit after having the first sputnik launched – now it is probably the role China plays in the international market of government securities which had much weight with decision-makers. The pavillion of Chile excels especially because of the careful accuracy of its interior design and exhibition rich in „food for thought”, whilst New Zealand has matched green architecture with the „national” flora. The Spanish hall offers a picturesque view with „undulating” formation and a facework with a varied palette made of wickerwork. The building of Norway is held together by glued components made of Norwegian pine and Chinese bamboo, the pavillion by Southern Korea is made up of the letters of the Korean alphabet, whilst the high-tech sand dunes of the United Arab Emirates is wrapped in aurulent shining metal plating.
Organized in the spirit of the slogan „Better City, Better Life”, the world exhibition focusses on issues of urban life and development. The national pavillions tend to join this trend to a varied extent, much in the same way it happens at other expos, with thematic pavillions furnished by the organizers offering deeper analyses. Independent case studies of more than seventy cities from all over the world are genuine specialties. The topic is a vital one for China concerning how it would be possible to have several hundred millions of peasants stay at their present dwelling-place, decrease the pressure and tension of inner immigration burdening cities, and what methods should be applied so as to make cities with several million people more liveable and efficient at the same time. Hungary only shared the topic of the expo via a poor quality film popularizing Budapest, and presenting a number of concepts – a two-level pedestrian bridge to be built in the heart of the city, a swimming-pool spreading on top of Gellért Hill, lookout lifts designed above the Citadel– wich have already been turned down by professional forums more than once. The centre of our pavillion is occupied by a large-size Gömböc.The space around it is closed and finished by wooden beams of varied lengths with shining ends suspended from above and moving up and down to music, nicely reflected on the shiny steel surfaces of the Gömböc. However, the elegance of the interior is not reflected by the exterior of the simple pavillion-box, wooden beams hanging in front of the white walls, the colours of the national tricolour are hardly visible and pale not only as tones. A few days later I noticed a shop in Beijng on the main road near the Lama monastery in the traditional district, some parts of which are having a facelift now: it was „Patisserie to Rubik’s Cube”. I wonder if the Gömböc reputedly evoking harmonious feelings in Far-Eastern people will turn out to be as popular in China.