Shanghai, China

Danish Pavilion EXPO 2010

Photo by Leif Orkelbog-Andresen

Concept: Welfairytales

Photo by Leif Orkelbog-Andresen

The Danish Pavilion will present new images, new ideas and new knowl- edge related to how Denmark can create sustainable cities with a high quality of life. The tales of the common challenges, common opportunities and common approaches integrated in the Danish Pavilion should invite and inspire both Chinese and global visitors to new and lasting partner- ships with Denmark and Danish companies.

Photo by Leif Orkelbog-Andresen

The exhibition

Photo by Leif Orkelbog-Andresen

The pavilion exhibition is an unfolded living fairytale book. book combines images, film, words and sound, inviting visitors to try out the Welfairytales themselves. Welfairytales presents new stories from Hans Christian Andersen’s native country. It is a fairytale about modern Denmark today and tomorrow in three chapters:

Photo by Leif Orkelbog-Andresen

The fairytale

“Tales of how we live” is about how Danes live and structure their daily lives in the cities. It tells a tale of how cities can be created that focus on a high quality of life and sustainability. This chapter is produced by direc- tor Martin de Thurah, of what makes life worth living. Its personal fairytales explain what should be in focus to create the cities of the future in order to give people better opportunities to develop and be happy. This chapter is produced by pho- tographer Peter Funch.

Photo by Leif Orkelbog-Andresen

“Tales of what we love” is about the Danes and includes personal stories

“Tales of where we’re going” is about our vision for a joint Danish/Chinese future, about how Danish-Chinese cooperation in the fields of technology and knowledge can improve life in the cities of the future.

Photo by Leif Orkelbog-Andresen

The architecture

Photo by Leif Orkelbog-Andresen

The Danish Pavilion is more than a traditional exhibition pavilion. It is an opportunity to try out Danish city life and see the original, famous Danish sculpture, the Little Mermaid. It is also possible to jump on a city bike to meet the Danes, their lives and their dreams. And you can enjoy a picnic and dip your toes in the water of the Harbour Pool.

The building itself is a monolithic steel structure designed as a double spi- ral with pedestrian and cycling lanes that take the visitor from the ground through two curves up to a level of 12 metres and down again.

In this way the Danish exhibition can be experienced at two speeds, both inside and outside – either as a calm stroll with time to absorb the sur- roundings, or a bicycle trip where the city and city life drift past.

There will be more than hundred city bikes for visitors to try. Inside, the floor features a light blue cycle path where the bikes pass through the building.

The Danish Pavilion is situated in Zone C as part of the “Nordic town”, with Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden as neighbours.

The facade The facade The facade The facade

Structurally, the pavilion is conceived as one giant self-supporting tubular steel truss, similar to the hull of a steel ship. The external facade structure is the building’s most efficient element. The perforation holes are there to let in daylight and for the purpose of natural ventilation. Due to the struc- tural performance of the truss, the degree of perforation varies with the structural stress along the facade. Every single hole in the facade is equipped with a LED light source enabling both the regulation of light in- side the pavilion and the illumination of the outside surface in the darker hours of the day.

As a result, the facade of the pavilion becomes an abstract pattern of light and darkness reflecting the flow of people and bicycles inside the pavilion, as well as the flow of forces inside the steel wall.

The Harbour Pool

The Danish Pavilion is wrapped around the Harbour Pool. It allows the visitor to experience what it is like to paddle round the Danish harbour. The Harbour Pool emits light into the meeting and business event area of the lower floor through a large window. In this way the meeting and busi- ness facility, designed for our VIP guests, becomes an extension of the Harbour Pool.

The sea as a recreational resource means a lot to the Danes. After years of concentrated efforts to reduce pollution, it is now possible to swim in- side the harbour areas of many cities.

The Little Mermaid in Shanghai

At the centre of the Harbour Pool is the Little Mermaid, who has been sit- ting on Langelinie in Copenhagen since 1913. On 12 March 2009, the City of Copenhagen gave their final approval to let the famous Danish land- mark travel abroad for the first time; she will be exhibited at the Danish EXPO 2010 Pavilion in Shanghai.

The idea to move the Little Mermaid from Copenhagen to Shanghai is a gesture of cultural generosity and also an invitation to cultural dialogue between Denmark and China.

Bench and fountain

Danish artist Jeppe Hein has designed a social bench going through the inside and outside space of the Danish pavilion. Besides being an artistic and social approach, the white steel bench also functions as a barrier be- tween the pedestrians and the cyclists. In addition, Jeppe Hein will create an interactive fountain where water walls rise and fall in interaction with the movement of passers-by.

Design Shop

The Danish Pavilion will host a design shop that offers Danish design and lifestyle products. The products have been chosen because they are products of tomorrow, not yesterday, and meet some of the following cri- teria:

- Products where Danish and Chinese knowledge and creativity are included on an equal footing.

- Products integrating sustainability and CSR with lifestyle ap- proach.

- Products based on Danish-Chinese collaboration.

A taste of Denmark

The Danish Pavilion offers visitors an exclusive culinary journey through Denmark. A journey that originates in the traditional Danish kitchen, ar- ranged with a modern touch and using the freshest and finest ingredients commonly enjoyed in Denmark. There will be a welcome bar and a roof top café where the food will be served in picnic basket. The food reflects the theme “Welfairytales”, and tasting becomes an integral part of the overall visit to the Danish Pavilion.

Europaconcorsi Beta

Danish Pavilion EXPO 2010