As the Milan World Exposition continues, Cultural Italy keeps exploring the best designs of the event suggesting the list of the Expo’s Best pavilions. And guess which country is going to be the next one in our chart of the must-see spots. It is France!
Yes, French know not only how to cook fresh and crispy baguette, rich in taste and deep in color wines, and creamy, smelly and sometimes even moldy but always delicious cheese. They also know pretty well how to design an appealing pavilion where to showcase in the best way all the national culinary treasures and cookery achievements.
However, this year France’s national building presents not only gastronomic quality of the country. The pavilion itself becomes a protagonist introducing country’s innovations in architectural design and timber construction.
The striking wavy structure of the French Pavilion designed by the Paris based office XTU Architects is indeed a very peculiar one. Not only its soaring and sinuous shape leaves numerous visitors breathless. Its construction method itself is something worth to be known.
What is interesting, in fact, it was nothing else but a digitally controlled robot to cut all the wooden ingredients used to build France’s Expo pavilion. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we live here in Milan a new (construction) era. And visiting Milan’s global event is a great source of the most incredible design- and food-news and inspirations from all over the world.
The pavilion, however, is appealing not only from the outside. It looks just great inside too. Besides the strong yet lightweight structure made of lattice pillars and girders, the pavilion features a cave-like curved interior. It is a kind of an upside-down world of the mountainous French landscape where different foods are slotted in between the wooden boxed ceiling structure.
Shall we mention that the great visual experience at the French Pavilion culminates with a degustation of local delicacies and specialties? It does. But watch out! Do not eat too much here. Save some space in your stomach for resting hundreds of restaurant Expo experiences.
Maria Novozhilova
e-mail: novozhilovam.blog@gmail.com
twitter: @NovozhilovaM
