Project Details
- Project Name
- Milan Expo 2015: Hungary
- Project Scope
- New Construction
- Size
- 3,000 sq. meters
- Year Completed
- 2015
- Team
-
Project leader and head creative designer: Sándor Sárkány
Head architectural designer: Attila Ertsey
Head landscape designer: Ágnes Herczeg
Head constructor: György Stocker
Head interior designer: Lajos Tompos
Head structural designer: Mihály Scharer
Head HVAC/building engineering designer: Béla Zöld
Head electric engineer: Zoltán Tóth
Interior designer: Zsolt Bozsódi
- Project Status
- Built
Created by a multi-firm project team, the Hungarian pavilion features a rounded front and back designed in reference to the slender and circular shamanic drums. Inside, the barrel-shaped structure functions like a greenhouse to accommodate an array of flora and fauna native to the country. Following the Expo, portions of the 3,000-square-foot pavilion will be reassembled in Hungary for use as a medical information center.
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Theme: From the Purest Sources
“La corona di quella terra che’l Danubio riga”, “The crown of the land crossed by the Danube”. This quotation from Dante is the motto, the spiritual logo of the Hungarian Pavilion at the Expo Milano.
Art director Sándor Sárkány dreamed up the striking appearance of the Hungarian Pavilion by combining archaic and organic features, resulting in a stirring and unusual structure. The circular shape of the front and back portions of the building reminds us of the ancient shamanic drums, as they subtly project a stylized tree of life. As one enters the central part, one finds oneself in a barrel-shaped structure; this then can be construed to symbolize Noah’s Ark, its deck teeming with the kaleidoscopic wild life of a rooftop garden.
The ribs embracing the rooftop garden at first suggest a huge skeleton; they could however also embody the turning towards sunlight, as they become the petals and leaves surrounding and protecting the “essence”. The garden houses “Life” itself: 33 species of fruits, vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants endemic to Hungary will be on display for the duration of the World’s Fair.
Around 90 percent of the structure will be reused: it will be reassembled as a medical information centre in Hungary, starting with the year 2016. Visitors to the Hungarian Pavilion will get a glimpse of the country of thermal springs and spas, of genetically unmodified grains, a realm of grapes and wine. Throughout the six months duration of the fair, Hungarian honey, fruit spirits (pálinka), the world famous Hungarian goose liver and the whole gamut of authentic Hungarian cuisine will delight those interested.
One of the highlights of the exhibition will be the newly designed concert piano developed by internationally renowned pianist Gergely Bogányi and his team, considered a significant advance in piano building. Well known pieces by Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály will be performed by acclaimed artists. The pavilion will also present the best of the one hundred year old Hungarian art of photography and cartoons, as well as a selection of innovations by world famous Hungarian scientists and innovators.
Last but not least the visitor will get to know the most important highlights of Hungarian-Italian historical and cultural relations.
To sum it all up, we are confident that the Hungarian Pavilion will offer a complex and exciting selection of the values that define Hungarian identity.
