The Azerbaijan Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 was designed by Simmetrico, who provided not only the architectural design but the installations for the pavilion’s contents and an app about the country’s treasures.
This is the first time Azerbaijan has participated in a World’s Fair, and the multidisciplinary team Simmetrico took care of all aspects of the country's pavilion, considered one of the most interesting and beautiful at Expo Milano 2015.
“Azerbaijan - Treasure of Biodiversity”, the theme the country has chosen for Expo, celebrates the Azerbaijan’s biodiversity and culture. The idea of the biosphere is a metaphor for Azerbaijan itself: a country open to flows from the outside world, a crossroads of different cultures, capable of appreciating and protecting its diversity and life. Three big spheres made of curved glass and steel form an integral part of the project created by Simmetrico network in partnership with Arassociati architectural studio, the structural engineers of iDeas and the experts on landscape architecture of AG&P.
The first Cultural Crossroads is located at the entrance and is open to promote flows of incoming visitors, who walk over a suspended glass floor with installations evoking the country’s geomorphology. The second, the Tree of Biodiversity, characterises the building’s main façade. The third, “innovation and tradition”, is an overturned tree, the roots of which contain the treasures of the country's traditional crafts, history and culture. In the tree’s foliage, at the bottom, visitors can choose three different routes, through three screens, to explore Baku, the capital city and symbol of innovation of Azerbaijan.
(Agnese Bifulco)
Creative concept and project supervision: Simmetrico
Construction project management: Simmetrico
Creative director: Daniele Zambelli
Project manager: Riccardo Cigolotti
Architectural design: Arassociati
Landscape architects: AG&P
MEP and structural engineering: iDeas
Images courtesy of Azerbaijan Pavilion
Pavilion Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/azerbaijanexpo2015/timeline
http://www.simmetrico.it/
