Belgian Pavilion (1)

Belgian Pavilion (2)

The Belgian Pavilion is a project from the Federal Government in close cooperation with the Regional governments and also with important support of Belgian companies, institutes and organizations.

The Brain Cell Concept

Meeting diversity, integrating the natural landscape, creating a sustainable construction and urban environment, building a high quality social environment, taking care of our prosperity and comfort while in the same time sharing our culture and values... These are some of the themes Conix Architects, Interbuild and Realys Group took into account when they developed the Brain Cell concept.

From a very early stage it was obvious that the pavilion had to communicate the “meaning of Belgium” in a very clear and iconic way. Due to the amount of visual information already present in Shanghai, the real challenge consisted of creating a complete and overwhelming image of Belgium. The image of the Brain Cell became rapidly an obvious choice as a reference! Although not all Chinese were fully aware of Belgium, the meaning of this powerful symbol was easily understood and chosen as the conceptual basis for Conix-Interbuild-Realys Group project.

The pavilion is conceived as a transparent and building, that is meant to be as open and inviting as Belgium is to anyone coming into the country. This spirit of openness, enjoyment for informal gatherings and exchange of ideas and stories, is embodied in a variety of convivial spaces throughout the pavilion. The pavilion also integrates the most recent Belgian and European sustainable technologies, serving as a show-case for innovations in the building process and development of the future cities. The pavilion expresses the great cultural diversity present in all major cities of Belgium, and the central point of the pavilion is intended to be the gathering place where people experience each other cultural references in a unified space that transcends all boundaries. In addition to that, the vast exhibition space will also allow all Belgian communities to express their individual qualities “under the same roof”.

As in many other countries, Belgium and Europe face huge ecological issues inherited from the 20th century. This is the reason why the sustainability of the pavilion, its openness and recyclability, its conception as a gathering and flexible place were key issues in the concept design of the pavilion.

For more information on Belgian Pavilion and its activities, please logon
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