Expo 2015: Polish Pavilion

The Polish Pavilion designed by 2pm Architekci for Expo 2015 is being realized through the use of a motif of a wooden apple box, normally used in shipment as a packaging for fruits and vegetables.

The idea is executed on two levels. In the micro scale through the use of the pavilion’s modular, openwork outside wall, visually referring to the aforementioned apple boxes, and in the macro scale by conveying the pavilion’s idea as a form of packaging for the presentation of Poland’s agriculture.

The pavilion’s layout leads visitors through a symbolic secret garden, hidden behind an openwork “box-like” structure. The garden itself consists of endless rows of apple trees, very characteristic to the Polish landscape. The image isn’t given to the visitors at once. In order to understand it, a person needs to make their way down a long and winding road. The contrast between the entrance, the crevice’s narrow and tall space, and the garden’s horizontal and endless space is the essence of the feeling the pavilion is supposed to evoke in its visitors. The illusion of the garden’s expanse and endlessness is created by the use of mirrors, elements made from polished, chrome-plated metal, which the entire inner wall is covered with in order to multiply the reflections in every possible direction. It creates a place full of light, freedom, and space. It resembles an Italian piazza, a square around which the lives of Italian cities are concentrated, here, quite surprisingly, “thrown” into the centre of a Mazovian apple orchard.

The message to the recipient is centred upon the Polish agriculture and its economic success. Apart from the real stroll, the exhibition offers a virtual walk as well during which the recipients will be able to learn more about the Polish agriculture as well as familiarize themselves with the Polish landscape. Through the use of tablets, visitors will be able to gain additional info by reading various elements of the exhibition, strewn across the garden and marked with QR codes. They will be also able to take a virtual stroll while resting in the shade of one of the numerous apple trees.

Polish Pavilion, Expo Milano 2015
Architects: 2pm Architekci (Piotr Musialowski, Michal Adamczyk, Stanisław Ignaciuk, Michal Lenczewski)
Cooperation: Piotr Bylka, Paulina Pankiewicz
Investor: Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, Polish Agency for Enterprise Development
Completion: 2015