Cultural Italy Blog: Art, Coffee & Love

Milan Expo Gate

ART EXHIBIT
Now till end of Expo 2015

Expo Gate is a new temporary architecture in the heart of Milan. It was officially open on May 11th of this year and it will be disassembled in November of the next year, once Expo 2015 is ended.

In the meantime it works as the Expo’s city info point and landmark, as a meeting point and as a spot for numerous cultural events. Expo Gate is located just in the heart of historical Milan on the pedestrian axis that links Duomo (the Cathedral) and Castello Sforzesco (the Castle).

There is no doubt: the Pavilion designed by the Milanese office Scandurra Studio is a symbolic and contemporary reinterpretation of Duomo di Milano. In particular, it was inspired by the Cathedral’s clear marble and slim spires. Therefore, following such classic example, Expo Gate has a slender structure made of thin white metallic tubes. This project has been realized following the principles of transparency, lightness and structural modularity. Such kind of principles evoke some of the world famous works of architecture such as, for example, the Eiffel Tower, an iron construction designed for the universal exhibition in Paris in 1887. Similar in a way to Eiffel Tower, Expo Gate is a complex combination of simple elements, basic technologies and totally recyclable materials. Expo Gate is easy to build and  easy to un-build.

Now we just have to see if this set of two booth-like pavilions in Milan will follow the destiny of its bigger French-mate and will “survive” also becoming a new permanent landmark of Milan.

Maria Novozhilova

e-mail: novozhilovam.blog@gmail.com
twitter: @NovozhilovaM