Poland Pavilion

Team of architects: Wojciech Kakowski, Natalia Paszkowska, Marcin Mostafa

THE PROJECT CONCEPT

In the contemporary world with its abundance of visual experience,
with the pictorial language of communication reigning supreme, with the
almost unconstrained and instant accessibility of iconographic
material, an exposition piece of architecture will only be attractive
insofar it can offer perceptual sensations attainable only through
direct, unmediated exposure to out-of-the-ordinary, singular stimuli,
insofar it can provide a quality of experience born out of the
chemistry of inter-sensory stimulation.

Given the nature of the exposition, the exhibition facility has to
denote, by its esthetic distinctiveness, the country of origin, has to
constitute, by the strength of its stylistic connotations, an
evocative, recognizable and memorable cultural ideogram. In our design,
the cultural idiom is primarily conveyed through the theme, the motif
of folk-art paper cut-out. Or, more precisely, through a rendering of
the motif, a transcription of an elementary esthetic code into the
contemporary language of architectural décor.

The transcription rationale was twofold. First of all, we did not
wish the design to be literally folklorish, a mechanical multiplication
of convention-approved set patterns. The intention was for the
structure décor to draw on and make reference to tradition, but
ultimately to be that tradition’s contemporary reinterpretation, a
creative extension into the present day by way of inspiration rather
than replication.

Secondly, we aspired to make the structure in its own right, in a
purely architectural dimension, a significant landmark, a showcase of
Polish design achievements. That it should be an attractive,
eye-catching exterior both in daylight, against the panorama of other
Expo facilities, as well as a mesmerizing experience at night with the
edifice drawn by the multi-colored light seeping through the cut-out
patterns. And reversely, that it should provide inside visitors with
comparable experience by shaping the outer skin patterning in such a
way that the sun rays shining through would chisel, by light and shade,
the space under the vault.

The structure’s overall shape, with many slanting planes, on the one
hand complements and rounds out, by the suggestion of a folded sheet of
paper, the ‘cut-out’ narrative, on the other creates inside a
geometrically intriguing and flexible space that can be creatively
apportioned, by inner divisions, to different exhibition, performance
and utility functions and uses.

You can view even more photos and concepts here.

Official Website: http://www.expo2010.com.pl/portal/en/