Expo Shanghai 2010 - German Pavilion

To the city in equilibrium with much technology. Going by the name of "Balancity", the German Pavilion in Shanghai has developed into one of the crowd-pullers of the World Fair.

Architect:
Schmidhuber + Kaindl GmbH, München

Lighting designer:
E³ Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, Altenbeken; Thomas Roscher, Bonn

Photographer:
Michael Wolf, Andreas Keller

Place:
Shanghai

Lighting solutions

The German Pavilion was one of the crowd-pullers at the Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Halfway through, at the end of July, the organisers had already recorded two million visitors; queuing times of 3 to 4 hours were more or less patiently accepted by the predominantly Chinese guests. Visitors can expect a tour de force through the many facets of today's Germany; although, the presentation of technology and the visions of the future would not be complete without the clichéd stereotypes of history and German home comforts.

Constructed from metal-fabric, the shimmering silver outer skin emphasises the technoid complexity of the volumes and intermediate spaces that constitute the German Pavilion. Tesis in-ground luminaires and Beamer projectors with efficient metal halide lamps add scenic lighting to the building shell.

In the pavilion's metaphorical "Energy Centre" (left), the three-metre-diameter "disco ball" hanging in the middle of the room is set in motion by the sheer volume of visitors' calls and their applause. To augment the scenic display, Quadra wallwashers with varychrome LED technology illuminate the hall's rear wall with intensive, changing colours.

The building shell's use of crystalline forms is continued in the pavilion's service areas. As seen, for instance, in the restaurant or in the VIP Lounge (below), which is fitted out with Lightcast downlights and Quadra wallwashers.

A design exhibition informs visitors about the state of the art of German industrial products (right). Acting as both lighting tool and exhibit: the track-mounted Cantax spotlights are "made in Germany" to Naoto Fukasawa's design.

Factsheet

Expo Shanghai:
1st of May to 31st of October 2010
en.expo2010.cn/

German Pavilion:
www.expo2010-deutschland.de

Architecture and master planning:
Schmidhuber + Kaindl GmbH, Munich
www.schmidhuber.de

Exhibition and media design:
Milla und Partner GmbH, Stuttgart
www.milla.de

Execution and project management:
Nüssli (Deutschland) GmbH, Roth
www.nussli.com

Lighting design:
E³ Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, Altenbeken
www.e3-ingenieurbuero.com
Thomas Roscher, Bonn

Lighting tools used

Tesis IP68
Introduction
Product overview

Focalflood
Introduction
Product overview

Beamer
Introduction
Product overview

Quintessence square
Introduction
Product overview

Cantax
Introduction
Product overview

ERCO track
Introduction
Product overview

Guide

The Guide section provides thorough information on everything from the physical bases of lighting to suggested solutions for different lighting situations. The interactive knowledge modules vividly illustrate lighting solutions that are possible with this product range.