New Zealand Pavilion

The theme of the New Zealand Pavilion is “Cities of Nature, Living between Land and Sky”. In its form and content the pavilion takes inspiration from the Maori creation story in which the god Tane separated his parents, the Sky and the Earth, to create space both for the natural world and for human beings.

The visitor experience will focus on the constant presence of nature in New Zealand’s urban life and the benefits which it brings – in terms of inspiration and the encouragement of innovation in business, art and culture, in our economy, and in our everyday lifestyle.

The winning tender for the design and build of the New Zealand Pavilion was submitted by a consortium comprised of international project management company Coffey Projects, architects Warren and Mahoney, visitor experience specialists Story Inc, quantity surveyors Rider Levett Bucknall leading garden designer Kim Jarrett, with engineers Beca joining the team.

The distinctive wedge-shaped pavilion will have a projected capacity of up to 40,000 visitors per day. It will cover approximately 75 percent of a 2000- square-metre corner site, close to both the China Pavilion and the China Theme Pavilion, and beside the main elevated walkway.

The Pavilion will comprise four visitor experience areas:

Welcome Space

The front entrance to the pavilion is a welcoming veranda, a lofty canopy supported by a forest of pillars interspersed with shorter pou (pillars), many of them interactive, providing shelter for visitors watching cultural performances and queuing for entry to the interior.

Cities of Nature experience

Inside the wedge, visitors will walk along a winding ramp that gradually rises up, taking them through a “day in the life” of a composite New Zealand city in a natural setting: from the sea, through the suburbs to the city centre, and out towards the mountains.

The journey will ask the question “what is a ‘better life’?” and give some possible answers in a series of sequences that look at different aspects of our “cities of nature”. Each sequence will consist of audio-visual projections, graphics, lighting and set elements.

Garden and wild places walk

Visitors will exit the Cities of Nature experience near the top of the wedge, and will then walk back down towards the veranda area through a garden planted with New Zealand trees and flowers, and making use of sculptural elements, audio and lighting.

VIP experience

An elegant mezzanine hospitality area located on the east side of the pavilion will be capable of hosting up to 40 guests for formal dining, or 80 for cocktail functions. It will also include a separate meeting / dining room for up to 12 people.

Official Site: http://shanghaiexpo2010.nzte.govt.nz