• Copyright. Buro Happold \ Adam Wilson
  • Copyright. Buro Happold \ Adam Wilson
  • Copyright. Buro Happold \ Adam Wilson
  • Copyright. Buro Happold \ Adam Wilson
  • Copyright. Buro Happold \ Adam Wilson

General information

  • Location address
    Hannover
  • Location country
    Germany
  • Function of building
    Exhibition
  • Climatic zone
    Temperate - cold winters and mild summers

Description

One of the most noteworthy features of Venezuela's pavilion is the presence of thousand of tropical plants which reflect the theme of "A Flower from Venezuela for the World." The roof of the glass building with its open configuration, designed in the shape of a flat-topped cone, is a huge artificial flower with petals that open and close. A total of 16 "monk-and-nun" petals, each ten meters long, which overlap when the blossom is closed, are attached to the supporting mast in the middle of the building. Visitors access the individual exhibition levels in the 18-meter-high pavilion from a central spiral stairway or from an elevator. Ramps lead from the upper levels to the building exit. The entire ground floor is covered with terracotta-colored triangular tiles, while the floors of the upper stories are surfaced with wooden strip flooring. The facades are constructed of framed glass and perforated sheet metal segments and decorated with planters and small pools with fish. Flower pots positioned along the bottom of the outside walls spray water that runs down the faces of the panes. Cascading water streams down over the planted terraces from the ring-shaped arrangement of aquariums on the second floor. It flows into a circular drainage canal, is cleaned in a series of purification phases and eventually returned to the circulation system.

Description of the environmental conditions

General comments, links

Period of construction: 10/1999 - 4/2000

www.structurae.de/en/structures/data/str00967.php

Venezuela

Material of the cover

  • Cable-net/Fabric/Hybrid/Foil
    Fabric

Main dimensions and form

  • Covered surface (m2)
    1480

Duration of use

  • Temporary or permanent structure
    Temporary
  • Convertible or mobile
    Mobile
  • Design lifespan in years
    00-05

Editor