August 1, 2005

	Images Courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid was chosen in July to design the main pavilion of the 2008 International Exposition in Zaragoza, Spain. Designed with Ove Arup Engineers, the pavilion will consist of an inhabited multi-level bridge that spans the Ebro River, linking the city to the Expo site. The French-based Bureau International des Expositions awarded Zaragoza, Spain’s fifth-largest city, the Exposition last November. The most recent International Expo is now wrapping up in Aichi, Japan.

Hadid’s pavilion’s design will be composed of four overlapping diamond-section space-frams, which curve and widen as they span the river, "like a gladiola blossom,” one juror commented. They will be covered by what Hadid describes as "a complex pattern of simple overlapping shingles.” This organic approach fits with the Expo theme of "Water and Sustainable Growth," as well as with the rest of the Expo site design. Among the 14 competition finalists were Richard Rogers, Torres & Martínez Lapeña, and Rafael Moneo. Other projects underway include a congress center (competition results due this fall), a "Fluvial Aquarium" by French architect Álvaro Planchuelo, pavilions for Spain and Aragon, and a single, large "ecological roof" that will shelter the remaining participants.

David Cohn

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