austrian pavilion creates sensory forest for expo milano 2015

austrian pavilion creates sensory forest for expo milano 2015
image © team.breathe.austria

to celebrate and promote clean air quality on the occasion of expo milano 2015, the breath.austria pavilion will be centered around a 560 square-meter forest. the project takes visitors on a sensory journey through a hilly and lushly vegetated landscape, which is surrounded by an elevated building housing supporting program for events and exhibitions. beyond its progression of diverse plant-life, the environment features transmitting ‘sound clouds’ and ‘smell stations’, which further engage human senses. the design is led by klaus k. loenhart of the graz-based landscape and urbanism studio terrain, with contribution by many additional scientists and engineers.

a gravel pathway meanders between vegetated landscape and a surrounding building volume
image © team.breathe.austria

the pavilion’s aim is to highlight the immense significance of air in food and energy production, as well as celebrate austria’s high quality of air. by interfacing architecture and a planted landscape, the project promotes the increase of green spaces in urban environments, in order to provide oxygen-rich and cooled climates.

the pavilion is composed of varying sensory conditions
image © team.breathe.austria

the plant-life of the replica austrian forest has a foliar surface, or evaporation area, of 43,200 square-meters. this results in a photosynthesis operation able to produce 62.5 kg of fresh oxygen per hour, enough for 1,800 people. the cooled micro-climate is complemented by passive building systems, with no use of air conditioning. a photovoltaic array generates the energy necessary for other exhibition functions.

the scheme seeks to promote an interface between indoor and outdoor spaces
image © team.breathe.austria

sound clouds and smell stations produce an engaged sensory journey
image © team.breathe.austria

the pavilion promotes an increase of photosynthesis
image © team.breathe.austria

exploded building diagram
image © team.breathe.austria

longitudinal section
image © team.breathe.austria

elevation
image © team.breathe.austria

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project info:

location: milan, italy
site area: 2,000 sqm (of which only 50 percent may be built on)
forest area inside the pavilion: 560 sqm
budget: 12 million euros
contractor: ministry of economic affairs, family and youth, science and research + austrian chambers of economy
commissioner general: josef pröll
project director: rudolf ruzicka
supporting program: events for particular groups in the fields of the economy, tourism, culture, and youth
pavilion design: terrain : landscape urbanism / klaus k. loenhart
design collaborators: markus jeschaunig (agency in biosphere), karlheinz boiger (hohensinn architektur), andreas goritschnig and bernhard könig (graz university of technology, institute for architecture and landscape / landlab), anna resch and lisa maria enzenhofer (lendlabor)
exhibition concept: maren richter
climate design: transsolar energietechnik, wolfgang kessling
vegetation technology: bernhard scharf, BOKU, institute of soil bioengineering and landscape construction / IBLB
structure: engelsmann peters beratende ingenieure, stefan peters