Exhibitions, events, museums · Milan · May — October 2015

Expo Milano 2015.

For the World Expo — more than twenty-one million visitors — we built scenography and installations for the pavilions of the "Feeding the Planet" theme.

Story

Act one

The golden bees
that pollinate the planet.

Expo Milano 2015 — theme "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life". Six months of the World Expo from 1 May to 31 October 2015, more than twenty-one million visitors across the ten kilometres of exhibition site at Rho-Pero, one hundred and fifty national and thematic pavilions, one unifying theme: food as a planetary issue.

For one of the inner pavilions — a section devoted to biodiversity and pollination — we built a large scenographic panel with giant golden bees sculpted in the round, translucent wings in acrylic material, abdomens in black and gold bands, articulated legs and antennae. The bees are installed on a sculpted rock wall in faux grey stone with reliefs of dry branches and reeds — the nest scene, the moment when the bees return home with pollen.

Scenographic panel with ten giant golden bees sculpted in the round on a grey rock wall for Expo Milano 2015: each bee about a metre long, golden banded body, translucent white wings, articulated legs, arranged against a faux-stone wall backdrop with reliefs of dry branches — The giant golden bees installed in the pavilion

Another view of the Expo museum installation: interior architectural detail with Creation Art scenographic materials — Another section of the museum installation

Act two

The Reef Balls
of the Oman Pavilion.

Inside the Oman Pavilion, along the route dedicated to fishing and the safeguarding of marine stocks, we built the scenographic reproductions of the Reef Balls — artificial modules designed to mimic the structure of a natural coral reef. They are elements in pH-neutral concrete, bell shaped with side holes that offer refuge to marine fauna. With an estimated life of over five hundred years: they integrate with the local marine ecosystem and over time become covered in coral.

The Oman Pavilion displays them as a symbol of the "Pro-Creator" project, the sultanate's environmental initiative to stimulate coral growth, protect the coasts from erosion, and repopulate the fish reserves — fundamental to the country's economy. For the pavilion we produced the exhibition version: the same bell-shaped proportions of the real Reef Balls, the same side holes, a grey faux-stone marine cement finish, at human height to let visitors walk around them and read the caption printed on top.

Reef Balls of the Oman Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015: two grey bell-shaped scenographic elements about a metre and a half tall, with round side holes mimicking openings for marine fauna, black labels on top for the captions of the Pro-Creator marine repopulation project — The Reef Balls of the Pro-Creator project

Act three

The Jereer
of the Qatar Pavilion.

The Qatar Pavilion at Expo 2015 — official theme "Qatar's Solution: Feeding Humanity through Innovation and Sustainability" — was designed around a precise cultural symbol: the Jereer, the traditional palm-leaf woven basket used for centuries in the markets of Doha and along the Gulf. A craft structure that here becomes the architectural cladding of the entire pavilion.

For the facade we built the outer cladding: a woven texture in straw colour that reproduces the pattern of the traditional Qatari Jereer, enriched with burgundy inserts that recall the country's national flag. Five different shades of fibreglass thread, woven in relief to cover square metres of curved facade. In the evening, under the pavilion lighting, the weave glows gold like a real market weave.

Inside the pavilion: a large monumental statue of the Qatari man — fisherman-farmer with a red-checked keffiyeh, white shirt, grey beard, proud expression, blue eyes, the figure who embodies the country's relationship with the land and the sea. Worked entirely in our Marino workshops: from the clay sketch — visible in the workshop photos, still rough and sand coloured — to the final piece hand painted and installed alongside the pavilion's exhibition route.

Six months of exhibition, twenty-one million visitors, pieces that have to hold up — children touching them, close-up photographs, temperature and humidity variations typical of the Po Valley summer climate. All the installations are in fibreglass on a stainless-steel core, finished by hand to simulate the texture of natural materials (woven palm, marine stone, human skin).

Qatar Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 seen at night: the curved facade is covered by the Jereer cladding — woven texture in straw colour with burgundy inserts of the Qatari flag — lit from within; in the foreground the Qatar flag flying from a flagpole, the white arched entrance to the right — The Qatar Pavilion at night — the Jereer facade lit up

Detail of the woven facade of the Qatar Pavilion: the fibreglass-recreated surface reproduces the pattern of the traditional Jereer, five shades of straw-coloured thread with horizontal bands and a central band of burgundy diamonds from the flag; a yellow construction crane visible at top right, a blue tank at bottom right — The Jereer facade during assembly — detail

The statue of the Qatari man installed in the pavilion: fisherman-farmer with a white and red checked keffiyeh, buttoned white shirt, grey beard, blue eyes, proud expression, hands joined on the chest, behind an animated backdrop of images of the country; blue stage lighting — The Qatari man, installed in the pavilion

Behind the Qatar statue

Four months
in our workshops.

From the clay sketch to the final piece hand painted and installed in the pavilion. The workshop photos document the work month by month.

Clay, three-quarter front view

Side view, the figure's profile

The statue at a more advanced stage of work, still sienna coloured: face modelled with the beard, shirt drapery refined with the spatula, hand anatomy defined; workshop hall with materials in the background — Piece at an intermediate stage, finishes in progress

Three-quarter view of the statue in the workshop: pose with the right arm raised to the chest, keffiyeh modelled over the head, long tunic falling to the feet, raw concrete base, workshop wall in the background — Three-quarter view, the gesture of the arm

The statue in front view, legs slightly apart in a walking pose, right hand at the chest, keffiyeh modelled, bearded face turned to the right; workshop walls in the background with other partial sculptures — Front view, the walking posture

Behind the scenes

Three pavilions,
three countries, three techniques.

Our signature at Expo Milano 2015 runs across three different clients — Italy, Oman, Qatar — with three distinct technical grammars: the organic sculpting of the golden bees, the faux cement stone of the Reef Balls, the trompe-l'œil woven reed of the Jereer facade.

The golden bees of the Italy Pavilion

For the section on biodiversity and pollination of the Italy Pavilion, bees in the round enlarged to visitor-scale. Golden banded bodies, translucent wings, a rock wall in faux stone as natural flight environment. The sculpting of the bee's abdominal fur is the detail that middle-school kids recognised from their science textbook.

The Reef Balls of the Oman Pavilion

For the Pro-Creator project of ocean marine repopulation, the scenographic Reef Balls are in faux marine cement stone: grey bell-shaped forms with side holes for the passage of undersea fauna. It is the scenographic copy of the real structures that are lowered onto the Oman seabed to rebuild the coral reef.

The Qatar Jereer cladding

For the Qatar Pavilion we built the "Jereer" cladding of the facade — a replica of the palm-leaf woven basket with burgundy inserts from the Qatari flag. The technique is the trompe-l'œil of woven reed: the basket looks made of real leaves but is painted fibreglass. The statue of the Qatari man with red-checked keffiyeh closes the pavilion's national identity.

21.5 M

visitors in six months · 145 participating countries

pavilions ours: Italy, Oman, Qatar

6 months

of continuous exhibition · 1 May — 31 October 2015

Tech sheet

All production data

Type: Scenography and installations for World Expo pavilions
Location: Expo Milano 2015 exhibition site · Rho-Pero (Milan)
Event duration: 1 May — 31 October 2015 · six months of exhibition
Expo theme: "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life" — food as a planetary issue
Total visitors: Over 21.5 million in six months · 145 participating countries
Works produced for the pavilions: Italy Pavilion · giant golden bees sculpted in the round · translucent wings, golden banded bodies, faux-stone rock wall — installation in the biodiversity and pollination route

Oman Pavilion · scenographic Reef Balls for the Pro-Creator marine repopulation project · grey bell-shaped forms in faux marine cement stone, side holes for the fauna

Qatar Pavilion · monumental statue of the Qatari man (fisherman-farmer with red-checked keffiyeh) · Jereer cladding of the facade reproducing the palm-leaf woven basket with burgundy inserts from the flag
Techniques: Fibreglass on stainless-steel core · hand-applied polychrome finish · material trompe-l'œil (faux stone, faux woven reed, faux organic relief)
Required resistance: Six months of continuous exhibition · over 21 million visitors · continuous public contact (children, close-up photographs), variations of temperature and humidity
Second life: Pavilions dismantled at the end of the event · some sculptures (bees, Qatari statue) kept in our workshops for reuse

Second life

Six months of exhibition,
a lifetime in our repertoire.

Expo Milano 2015 closed on 31 October with a historic result for the World Expos held in Italy. The pavilions were dismantled in the following months and the Rho-Pero exhibition site entered a new phase — today it is the MIND Milano Innovation District, a hub for biotech research.

For us, Expo 2015 remains one of the most visible moments of our work for large public events. Some sculptures came back to our workshops and entered the repertoire: the techniques of organic sculpting for the bees, of faux marine cement stone for the Reef Balls, of trompe-l'œil woven reed for the Jereer cladding have become a stable part of our scenography for later exhibitions, events and pavilions.