Shanghai Expo 2010 pavilions

Catherine Warmann | 28 April 2010 25 comments

Shanghai Expo 2010: Dezeen reader Chaz Hutton snuck into the Shanghai Expo 2010, due to open this weekend. Here are his photographs of a selection of the pavilions.

Above: UAE Pavilion

See all our stories about the expo here.

Above: UAE Pavilion

Above: Swiss Pavilion

Above: Swiss Pavilion

Above: Swiss Pavilion

Above: Swiss Pavilion

Above: Swiss Pavilion

Above: Swiss Pavilion - interior

Above: Swiss Pavilion - interior

Above: Chinese Pavilion

Above: Chinese Pavilion

Above: Chinese Pavilion

Above: Austrian Pavilion

Above: Japanese Pavilion

Above: South Korea Pavilion

Above: South Korea Pavilion

Above: Norwegian Pavilion

Above: UK Pavilion

Above: UK Pavilion

Above: UK Pavilion

Above: UK Pavilion

Above: UK Pavilion

Above: Spanish Pavilion

Above: Spanish Pavilion

Above: Spanish Pavilion

Above: Luxembourg Pavilion

Above: Luxembourg Pavilion

Above: Luxembourg Pavilion

Above: Serbian Pavilion

Above: Swedish Pavilion

Above: Turkish Pavilion

Cristina

What´s this huge baby in my country´s pavilion? Can anyone explain it to me?
Am I the only one both scared and worried about where my taxes go?

btw, Thanks for sharing those amazing pictures! Great!!
Lee

Typical that the UK one has a CCTV camera at the door!

Awesome work by Heatherwick Studios
flytoget

Yeah. The Brits have the best pav.
Jeff

will there be a US pavilion?
Paulo

Which one is people's favorite & why?

It looks like a ron Mueck sculpture in the Spanish pavilion. Why? He is Australian, but does that matter?
ze’ev

ahhhh..so that's where all the steel goes.
Joe

I wish there was more angles for most of the pavilions.
Mr Hanky

The British and Spanish pavilions are great! A pity the expo has been rocked by copycat scandals, first the mascot, next the theme song and finally the chinese pavilion.
Jonah

i think UK has the most innovative pavilion, and South Korea and Serbia have the cutest ones :)
Al

@ Christina: I don't know. There are those who are scared. There are those who are worried. But to be both scared AND worried about where your taxes go? Who knows, you may very well be alone.

In all seriousness though, as soon as you start worrying about public approval for pieces funded by government arts support programs it degrades the work to little more than entertainment. Demanding that art be popular is ridiculous. I do however agree with you from an aesthetic standpoint; that baby is hideous.
cacas

woow!! nice fotos!
Eric Miller

That is really cool! It looks really good.
Eric Miller

You have a good collection. It produces thought and inspiration.
Eric Miller

The Red wood model lacks individuality. See the UCSD Library.
pete

Jeff-

there is a US pavilion, its just not very photogenic.
willem

sorry, i can't judge the quality just by these pictures. i like the diversity between the pavillions. i don't like the complexity of most. but i certainly have to go first to shanghai ....
Val

I absolutely agree with Mr. Hanky
Spanish and British pavilions are amazing.
Chad

@Mr. Hanky: The song is the only copycat really. The mascot is NOT a copy of Gumby just because it has 2 legs, 2 arms and is shaped like an A. It's like saying every new sedan is a copycat of the original sedan. The pavilion itself is definitely not a copycat as well and I'm shamed my fellow Canadians were one of the ones trying to claim it was just because the shape was somewhat similar.

It's a shame anything China does gets triple the scrutiny for being a copy, and they get accused of it unfairly many times nowadays.
Marshal Han

Spanish & British are simply stolen the show!!!!!!!!!!
OB

China pavillon strangely similar to canadian's at Montreal World Expo 1967
(Canada was host)

Not the beautifulest anyway...

http://www.alamedainfo.com/Expo_67_Montreal_200_Canada_Pavilion.jpg
sarahcee

UK pavillion = fanatastic.
The spanish pavillion has the most beautiful exterior texture i have seen but the interior is a let down.

And finally, the japanese pavillion bears a striking resemblance to my favourite novelty tent:
http://www.underbelly.co.uk/uploaded_images/UB%2008%20054.jpg
PETE

The U.S. pavilion is not just un-photogenic, it is very typical for the bad design that usually ends up representing the USA. It looks like a cousin of the new US embassy in Berlin.

http://en.expo2010.cn/c/en_gj_tpl_38.htm

What about pictures the Dutch Pavilion? I find that to be one of the few to successfully address the expo's theme of 'Better City, Better Life'. They don't build a fancy box, they build a little city.

http://www.china.org.cn/travel/expo2010shanghai/2009-03/11/content_17423844.htm

http://www.johnkormeling.nl/
Salty

what a waste... future wasteland. look up Hanover expo 2000 grounds on google earth to see history repeat itself again and again.
Mr Hanky

@Chad
Its unnecessary to reinvent the wheel, we have at one moment in time referred to a precedent or other. In fact the best compliment to designers are when their work is so striking that it is copied..go ask all the counterfeit manufacturers in China. The big BUT is we always hope the next product is a better improvement or a radical overhaul of the original specimen, look at how the automobile has evolved from the FORD model. This is the WORLD EXPO and ignorance is not an excuse for not being aware of any existing reference especially in this internet age. The Japanese were copying right off the American backs right after he war but look where they are today. THIS IS THE WORLD EXPO afterall....we want new stuff!
Erik

John Kormelings HAPPY STREET rules!

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Shanghai Expo 2010 pavilions

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