SHANGHAI WORLD EXPO 2010
by Lee Bee Luen and Summer Lee

In the 156-year history of World Expositions, host countries have leveraged on the event as a tool for national branding, and of these, the most famous example can be said to be France. The Eiffel Tower, originally conceived for the Exposition Universelle in 1889, is today a well-known international icon, synonymous with Paris. In fact, the Tower is one of the most visited landmarks today, having welcomed its 200 millionth visitor in 2002, with the number of visitors in the past decade averaging six million per year.

Come May 2010, the world’s eyes will be on Shanghai when it hosts the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Once a fishing village but now a symbol of cosmopolitan China, and the largest city in the nation, Shanghai has flourished to become an important economic, political and cultural centre. In fact, it has also been dubbed the ‘Paris of the East’. Like Paris and other cities before and after, Shanghai is determined to seize the opportunity to re-establish itself on the international platform through the Expo.

BETTER CITY, BETTER LIVE
“Better City, Better Life”—that is the theme for the 2010 Expo as countries come together to exchange ideas and experiences on the subject of cities and urban development, and explore new ways to create eco-friendly and sustainable societies.

In line with the theme, an old industrial area in downtown Shanghai has been given a new lease of life as the site for the Expo. The birthplace of Shanghai’s modern industry, it houses shipyards, plants and warehouses, among them the 142-year-old Jiangnan Shipyard, which launched the country’s first sea plane. However, old facilities and overcrowded residential quarters have rendered the area in serious need of regeneration. Situated along the waterfront of the famous Huangpu River, in between Nanpu Bridge and Lupu Bridge, the Expo site occupies 5.28 square kilometres—covering 3.93 square kilometres on the east and 1.35 square kilometres on the west. In a bid to preserve and showcase the area’s rich cultural heritage and history, approximately 380,000 square metres of the old buildings will be retained, of which 250,000 will be fully preserved. The scale of conservation of the historic buildings at the site is the largest in the history of World Expos, and the refurbishment of the old factories will also be a main highlight of the event as past Expos usually involved the construction of new pavilions.

Making way for the construction of the China and theme pavilions, some 180,000 residents previously staying in cramped and shabby facilities in the industrial area have been relocated to newly-built neighbourhoods with better living conditions. Some of the old industries, among them the shipyards and steel plants, have also been moved.

A CITY MAKEOVER
Apart from rejuvenating the site area, numerous projects to improve the city’s infrastructure and to spruce up its image are also underway, in preparation for the estimated 70 million visitors. Shanghai targets to invest more than RMB110 billion (US$14.47 billion) in developing its public transportation system including Metro lines and mass transportation transfer hubs. There are plans to increase the current five Metro lines to 11 by 2010, and to build more than 200 new stations by 2009; the subway system will also be lengthened from the current 145 kilometres to 400 kilometres. To reduce congestion and improve accessibility, a route has been planned to run through the Expo site, with five stations located within the venue itself; bus-only lanes totalling 300 kilometres will link the site to other parts of the city. New roads and expressways are being built, street signs corrected and improved. Three new waterway entrances and refurbished existing passenger docks will accommodate ferry traffic. Hongqiao International Airport is also undergoing a major expansion, increasing its capacity with an additional runway and terminal as well as upgrading its facility to accommodate the A380. Plans to beautify the city include planting 3.7 hectares of greenery around the railway station; adding over 2 million flower pots in the urban areas; and introducing floral landscapes along the roads. Even the Huangpu River bridges, such as the two oldest built Yangpu and Nanpu bridges, will be refurbished.

MASTERPLAN
The masterplan for the Expo site is based on the concept of ‘City of Harmony’, and is designed to represent harmony between man and nature; harmony between past, present and future; and harmony among humans. With over 40 percent of the site planned for trees and greenery, and a 300,000-square metre patch of green land to be built along the Huangpu River—the city’s largest open green space when completed—it demonstrates the harmonious co-existence of man and nature. The conservation of the old industrial buildings illustrates the importance of respecting and preserving one’s history and heritage while looking forward to create a sustainable future. Harmonious relationships among people is essentially expressed through the Expo itself, as a platform for people to converge and interact through activities and the latest technology.

The China Pavilion
World Expos have created outstanding buildings and structures in the course of its history, and Shanghai is, of course, sparing no effort to create a China Pavilion that will impress. As Bernard Testu, the France Commissioner General for the Shanghai World Expo aptly puts it in an interview with the Shanghai Expo magazine: “Each World Expo will produce its landmark building(s). The Eiffel Tower is the most famous one that has survived the World Expos held in Paris, France. The Expo building complex will become the city’s precious heritage after Expo Shanghai. In my opinion, the China pavilion, after a wonderful exhibition, is sure to be a permanent landmark building in Shanghai, presenting the unique features and images of China as a great country.”

The China Pavilion, named the ‘Crown of the East’, has a striking red structure— the traditional colour of the Chinese—with a distinctive roof feature. Located in the core area of the Expo site, it covers 6.52 hectares, and comprises three parts: a national pavilion (the giant red structure with the ‘crown’ roof); a joint pavilion for provinces and cities (the grey ‘base’ structure surrounding the national pavilion); and separate pavilions for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

The China Pavilion aims to present the rich elements of Chinese culture. Designed to resemble the crown of ancient Chinese emperors, the roof of the national pavilion is made up of dougong brackets—an important feature of traditional Chinese architecture—albeit modified in shape and design to give it a modern twist. Dougong is a system of interlocking brackets, formed by fixing layers of wooden brackets upon each other, between the top of a column and a crossbeam. With more than 2,000 years of history, dougong-styled roofs can be seen on other important buildings such as the Forbidden City and Summer Palace in Beijing. With a height of 30 metres, the national pavilion’s six-layer dougong roof also features a sudoku grid.

The China Pavilion incorporates green technologies into its design to realise its set of environmental protection and energy efficiency goals. Some of the ways include sharing equipment and resources with the other pavilions whenever possible, mitigating emissions and conserving energy. For example, the cantilevered roof of the national pavilion provides natural sun shade, and the joint pavilion has a heat insulated roof. All these features aim to make the energy conservation goals 10 percent higher than the national requirement.

The Theme Pavilion
The Theme Pavilion is always a main highlight for each World Expo. In line with the Shanghai Expo’s theme of “Better City, Better Life”, it hopes to showcase innovative urban living, exhibiting the relations between human life and cities under different temporal and spatial conditions. With a floor area of 80,000 square metres above ground and 40,000 underground, the Theme Pavilion emphasises the strong correlation and interaction between Earth, city and people in the sweeping urbanisation process, and reveals hope for a better world and life.

Inspired from the concept of ‘lanes’ and ‘tiger windows’, the design of the Theme Pavilion alludes to the traditional craft of paper folding. The cantilevered canopies on the north and south elevations create grey spaces that serve as transitional zones to handle pedestrian traffic and interaction between the indoors and outdoors. The western and eastern elevations display the pavilion’s structural characteristics and its energy saving façade.

Inspired by linong or cramped old-style lanes and alley residences that characterised Shanghai streets in the 19th century, the patterns of the Theme Pavilion’s roof echoes the maze of linong. The repeating texture of clerestories also recalls the traditional roofing of old alley houses. Continuous triangular forms on the roof resemble kites, paper planes and birds, symbolising the people’s hope for freedom and life.

AFTER-USE
After the Expo, the venue will serve as a standard exhibition centre, creating a modern service industry hub integrating exhibition, conference, activities and accommodations with the surrounding China Pavilion, hotels, Expo Centre, Expo Axis and entertainment centre. With the rejuvenation to the area, it may well develop into another Central Business District of the city.