Shanghai World Expo Museum is currently the first official international museum in China and the only permanent museum and documentation center authorized by the International Bureau of Exhibitions (BIE).
It is also one of the key cultural projects of the 12th Shanghai Five-Year Plan. Located in the historical center of Pusi on the side of the original venue of Expo 2010, the museum is a good example of using the cultural heritage of the local region.
Construction began at the end of 2013, and the museum officially opened on May 1, 2017. The start of work on the project was provoked by the international architectural design competition announced in February 2012, which attracted the enthusiastic attention of the construction industry at home and abroad. After two rounds of selection of candidates, the decision to give the leadership of the construction process was transferred to the East China Institute of Architectural Design and Research. His bid, entitled “The City in Celebration”, reflected a joyful city life and a better vision of the future, which fully meets the stated orientation of the museum.
On the one hand, this architectural project was designed to reflect significant fragments of the more than 160-year history of exhibitions, which made the museum a “receptacle of the era.” On the other hand, he sought to create a space where citizens could participate and hold a variety of cultural events, which made the museum a “city living room” where people can explore, create and share the joy of life. This highlights the museum’s integration with Shanghai’s urban life and international cultural ties.
The project covered a land plot of about 4 hectares, and the total building area was about 46,550 square meters. In accordance with the characteristics of the environment and a well-thought–out layout, the external exhibition space called “Historical Valley”, consisting of stone and copper–aluminum composite panel, embodies the eternity of time, while the transparent ascending glass in the center – “Jubilant Cloud” – appears as a multifunctional exhibition hall and lobby, focusing on moments of the future.
During its construction, a rare high-rise structural system was used in the form of a suspended steel body. It was made from more than 3,000 pieces of glass, instantly becoming a new landmark of the city. The combination of these two styles creates a rich interactive space inside and outside the building, integrating cultural and historical memory with urban life.
Inside the rectangular block, the main line is the street of green pavilions, which evokes a similar sympathy of visitors when visiting exhibitions. The fully open pavilion street provides the public with a place to relax with beautiful landscapes, which contributes to the involvement of local residents and tourists, reflecting the main concept of the exhibition – “understanding, communication, unification and cooperation”.
The main entrance is located in the east, and the logistics service is located in the west, which avoids mutual interference in space. The main structure of the World Exhibition Museum consists of five floors above ground and one underground, with an administrative and research area, an exhibition area for the public and an integrated service area, sequentially located from north to south. The administrative and research area in the northern part mainly consists of a warehouse, a documentation and research center. The public exhibition area in the middle part contains both a permanent exhibition area and a temporary one.
The museum became the winner in the nomination “Architecture, Design of buildings and structures” in the framework of the largest international design competition “A’ Design Award & Competition” abroad between 2017-2018.
The author of the article Kartushina Varvara Sergeevna
