Prague - The Czech pavilion at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai will be built by Film Dekor. The company's winning project, entitled Urbanized Landscape, features young but established authors selected by curator Lenka Lindaurová.
Film Dekor won previous contests to represent the Czech Republic at Expos in Aichi in 2005 and Hanover in 2000. The company also participated in film productions including Bathory and Casino Royal and video clips for Celine Dion and Ozzy Osbourne.
Up to 70 million people are expected the visit Shnghai's Expo, which is expected to be the largest in history and the theme of which will be Better City - Better Life. The Czech section, organized around the Fruits of Civilization theme, may attract up to 30,000 people per day.
The winning project was voted as the best of nine competing teams by a 16-membered committee including National Theatre general manager Ondřej Černý, architecture historian Zdeněk Lukeš and architect David Vávra.
Facade made of pucks
The contenders were asked to come with designs to remodel an existing pavilion that the Czech Republic has rented in Shanghai. The government has earmarked CZK 520 million for the event, of which about a third will go to the realization and maintenance of the Czech pavilion.
Architect Jiří Buček and his SIAL studio will decorate the facade of the pavilion with an image of Prague's Old Town composed of ice-hockey pucks. In a press release the authors say, hopefully with some irony, that this is to "signify that rubber pucks represent a significant Czech export commodity and a symbol of our victories in world sports."
Visitors passing through the Czech section will "walk on the pavilion's soft grass or rest in terrain waves while watching a regular grid of streets above their heads. They will move from street to street and discover different artefacts - fruits of civilisation."
Bloated civilization
The section devoted to Technology will feature of large glass heart levitating above the visitors' heads. Projected on the walls will be a 3D simulation resembling a surgical operation and at the same time a busy technological production plant. The author is Federico Díaz, music by Hynek Šnajdr.
The section entitled the Nearest Space We Live In will represent a magnified living room whose interior has been designed by young and innovative Czech designers and which is to emphasize our desire for privacy.
The Transport section will present Czech design car models and, at the same time, reveal with humour the problems of our bloated mobility.
In Senses, Their Loss or Manipulation, a module over the visitors' heads will produce colours, scents and music by Jan P. Muchow. Their intensity will react to the number of people underneath.
The Ecology section was entrusted to the controversial group Rafani. In the middle of the floor, which represents an open landscape, emerges a black lake, which will gurgle as the visitors draw nearer. This will contrast with fast-growing vegetation surrounding the lake, signifying a transformation of environmental impact to a positive product.
Part of the pavilion's interior will be a restaurant designed by Tomáš Veselý.
