Studio Arthur Casas has suspended a huge rope canopy over a planted garden area inside the Brazilian Pavilion for Expo Milano 2015. “We aimed to combine architecture and scenography in order to provide visitors with an experience that would transmit Brazilian values and the aspirations of its agriculture and livestock farming according to the theme ‘Feeding the world with solutions'”explained the Studio Arthur Casas team. More than a temporary building, the sensorial immersion includes leisure, high technology information, interaction and learning.
The inspiring idea of a flexible, smooth and decentralized network is present in every aspect of the building and represents the country’s pluralism. Amidst more than 130 constructions, the Brazilian Pavilion proposes a pause, the intention of creating a public square that draws people together and engenders curiosity. As porous as the Brazilian culture, a large volume is open to visitors and establishes a pathway among several plant species cultivated in the country. The earthly colors of the metal structure highlight this “Brazilianess” and the gradual transition between inside and outside erase the boundaries dividing architecture and scenography. The metaphor of the net is materialized by a tensile structure that creates unexpected places for leisure and rest. Following the tradition of Brazilian modernism and its pavilions, large runways reinforce the connection between the different spaces.
Different themes inspired the clusters distributed along the ground floor of the pavilion. They are organized according to ideas such as nutrition, family agriculture, forestry and integration between farming and livestock. Box containing plants were organized according an orthogonal grid, creating sinuous paths, inspired by the curves of the Amazon River. This Cartesian grid plays with organic landscapes, in a game of superposition and dialogue between the hand of man and the forces of nature. While walking through this path, visitors will find interactive tables and see how the net takes part in this fluid demarcation between themes.
The volume placed in the rear of the plot houses exhibition spaces, an auditorium, a pop-up store, a café, a lounge, a restaurant and office facilities, interconnected by a large atrium that brings in natural light. Brazilian artists and designers were invited to exhibit works side by side with interactive installations that explain the technical revolution in course in Brazilian food industry.
all images © RAPHAEL AZEVEDO FRANÇA