This 6,000 sq. m. thematic pavilion has been conceived as an instrument. Not only will its structure articulate the music of the local winds and waves that flow through it and around it. But it will also serve as a pedagogical instrument to encourage a heightened awareness of mankind’s relationship to the ocean.

 

Like a giant lionfish, the pavilion will float among a series of small Eco-Isles linked by bridges. Each of these Isles will reproduce in miniature a different coastal environment, representative of the diversity of the earth’s shorelines. This string of island platforms alludes to the archipelagos of Korea. 

The pavilion contains three levels—past, present, future. After entering the pavilion, the visitor descends the ramp to the Submarine World, this is a movement both downward in space and backward in time. Visitors then re-ascend to Sea Level—a level which represents the realm of the present and, more specifically, the world of mankind’s current interactions with the oceans. The third level of the pavilion brings the visitor into the Future of the Oceans (the Research and Best Practice Area).

 

Above these three levels lies the roof park entertainment and recreational Area. Here the visitor will realize quite literally that “the sky is the limit.”

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Location: Seoul, South Korea

Client: World Expo

Site: 4 acres

Area: 6000 sq.m

Year: 2012