The image in all its manifestations formed the theme for the Paris International Exposition 2004. The unifying spatial concept of the exposition, which was to include pavilions from multiple nations, is thus the juxtaposition of different kinds of images—moving versus surface images, the image of the part versus the image of the whole, and images that shock versus smoothly continuous filmic images. These images in turn can be broken down into composite elements—namely, points, lines, grids, frames, and pixels—that have architectural analogues in the master plan of the exhibition. The plan includes a central court, gates, bridges, national pavilions, kiosks, and an auditorium, all located on a 51-hectare site in Seine-St.-Denis, a community just north of Paris. more

The proposed master plan design for Expo 2004 therefore attempted to create a setting that transcends the static, pictorial characteristics of the image by addressing the realm of the imaginary. We aimed to invent a coherent and precise device to transport the public toward a new dimension—the meeting point between real and virtual worlds. The goal was not to immerse the spectator in a world of images, but instead, to enable him or her to become an active mediator in the displacement between the real and virtual.

The "long court" is a common space that functions both as a city square and as a route linking the exposition's two proposed entrance rotundas. As a central gathering space, the long court unifies the exposition's circulation systems. Instead of emphasizing the autonomy of individual national pavilions, the national buildings were organized according to a repetitive matrix and contributed to the common goal of defining an ideal space for assembly, facilitating a community of nations. The long court is interspersed by cultural kiosks or small, circular, thematic buildings that function as programmatic devices in the middle of the circulation space. Other major buildings include the bulbous VIP pavilion with its appended bridges and the 70,000-spectator-capacity auditorium, intended to become permanent and to accommodate major events both during Expo 2004 and afterwards. back

Credits

SCHEDULE
Competition 1st Prize, 2001
SIZE
100 acres
BUDGET
$400,000,000
CLIENT
French National Government and Regional Government
TEAM
Lead Designer: Bernard Tschumi. Key Personnel: Véronique Descharrières, Luca Merlini, Anne Save de Beaurecueil, Jean-Jacques Hubert, Antoine Santiard, Cristina Devizzi, Matteo Vigano, Ido Avissar, Sami Tannoury, Yann Brossier, Sylviane Brossard, Daniel Holguin, Nicolas Martin, Lihi Gerstner, Michaela Metcalfe, Justin Moore, Jonathan Tremba back

Program: Cultural, Infrastructure, Master Plan, Performance, Public Buildings