Our friend Marcello Silvestre, from Iodice Architetti sent us their design por the Italian Pavillion for the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Silvestre, along with Francesco Iodice and Giuseppe Iodice from Iodice Architetti worked with Giampaolo Imbrighi, Teresa Crescenzi, Antonello De Bonis, and Cosimo Dominelli in the design of the pavillion. The project proposes a building which integrates a typical model of the Italian urban building, with the architectural structure of the Chinese construction game called Shanghai. More images and architect’s description after the break.

The pavilion covers an area of 3.600 square metres and is 18 metres high. Inside it is divided into irregular sections of different dimensions, connected by a steel bridge structure where the connecting galleries are visible. If needed, the structure can be dismantled and reconstructed, on a smaller scale, in another part of the city.

The different sections of the building make up a geometrical variety symbolizing the tradition and regional customs which define the Italian identity: a type of mosaic of which each of the parts show a single picture. The form also highlights the topographic complexity of Italian cities, with its numerous short narrow roads and alleys which suddenly open onto a large square, a characteristic which can also be found in the traditional Chinese urban centres. A psychophysical effect of comfort is given by an internal garden, the presence of water and natural light which spreads throughout the area across the patios and by the walls.