British Pavilion, Shanghai Expo 2010

The concept is an enclosure that throws out from all faces a mass of long, radiating cilia. Their length means they gently sway in response to any wind movement. It rests on its soft forest in an urban field, surrounded by a concrete canopy that resembles unfolded wrapping paper.

Atelier Ten’s MEPH Design of the British Pavilion for the Shanghai Exposition in China uses careful integration of a displacement ventilation system weaving in and out of the Acrylic Spikes within the raised floor to discharge horizontally at low-level on the side walls, returning at high-level through near invisible grilles. This keeps the internal temperatures at a comfortable level while avoiding big visible ventilation grilles. The internal lighting scheme uses 70,000 1w LED’s set into the Acrylic rods 1m from the internal tip providing enough light to illuminate the seed collection encased at the end of the rod.