Swiss Pavilion: Attracting the World

• Source: Global Times
• [11:04 June 01 2010]
• Comments

The Swiss Pavilion Photo: Li Zhenyu

By Li Zhenyu

Switzerland, in spite of its small size, is home to many large international organizations, including the World Economic Forum, International Olympic Committee, World Trade Organization and FIFA, among others. It holds the world's attention.

While the Swiss Pavilion, the national pavilion of Switzerland, takes up no more than 4000 square meters, it has proven to be one of the biggest attractions at the world's largest fair.

With a combination of shiny red curtain and a sightseeing cable car, the Swiss Pavilion has stood out in the dazzling Shanghai Expo Park.

"The most distinguished features of the pavilion are its curtains of woven aluminum and chairlift ride," said Andreas Schmucki, Chief Operating Officer of the Swiss Pavilion. "Our country is portraying itself through an exhibition on the sub-theme of the Expo, Rural-Urban Interaction."

The eye-catching "uniform" consists of more than 10,000 solar cells. The cell is comprised of an LED light, an energy source, a storage unit and a consuming unit. Each solar cell can produce energy made visible in the form of white flashes that are triggered by the pavilion's surroundings such as the sun or camera flashes, which indicates how much unused energy is all around. Every cell bears a map of Switzerland and can be purchased in the Swiss Pavilion shop at the time when the Expo puts on its finishing touches.

Another unique feature of the pavilion is the chairlift ride which takes visitors to the roof of the pavilion for a great view of the whole Euro Square.

The cable car takes visitors from the ground floor where the exhibition focuses on Swiss urban civilization to the roof where a tranquil space close to nature and far away from the crowd is provided. The 10-minute journey offers participants three-dimensional glimpses of innovative and sustainable Swiss success stories.

"The Chinese Philosophy of "Yin" and "Yang," the two opposing principles in nature, is used in the design concept of the pavilion to achieve a harmonious combination of high technology and nature," Schmucki said.