Italian Pavilion
Expo 2015
Milan
EXPO 2015 united 140 countries under the theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.” Italy’s pavilion, “Vivaio Italia,” served as an incubator for innovative, sustainable projects, fostering dialogue between visitors and visionary Italian minds. Centered around four themes—Workmanship, Beauty, Future, and Limits—the exhibition showcased Italy’s creative entrepreneurship, highlighting agronomists, farmers, and innovators from 22 regions.
Design by Giò Forma and Balich Wonder Studio and Consorzio Orgoglio Brescia, The pavilion, through its refined surface textures and the gradual dematerialization of the volume upwards, evokes an urban forest. The four closed blocks defining the exterior shape also serve as the backdrop for the large central plaza—covered by a photovoltaic glass sky—which serves both as a welcoming space for visitors and the starting point for the exhibition route.
The exhibition route unfolds across four levels, allowing visitors to explore the interior of the building, which, during the Universal Exposition, hosts the exhibit on Italian Identity. The exhibit showcases “Italian Powers”: stories of excellence in innovative business creation; beauty, through landscapes and architectures displayed in a gigantic kaleidoscope; tales of those who have excelled in agriculture even in geographically and logistically challenging conditions; and finally, a nursery of 21 plants representing the Italian regions.
The pavilion, inspired by the market as a symbol of Italian identity, offered an immersive, sensory experience that connected tradition and modernity.
