New Town Hall Hannover

HANNOVER EXPO'00 VISION

These images were taken during a photo-finding trip to EXPO 2000 Hannover, Germany,  in July,  1999. The Hannover EXPO'00 Vision project is the third in a series of Worlds Fair documentation essays created by Raul Pedroso with the support from    LTU International Airways, CreoScitex, Sinar Bron, World Wide Foto and CBS of Miami. 

Text By E. BAILEY

On the outskirts of Hannover, Germany, massive construction is transforming a 420 acres fair grounds site into a futuristic stage for a history-making world event. Expo 2000, the first world exposition hosted by Germany, debuts June 1, 2000, and showcases its theme, Humankind, Nature and Technology, through October 31. One hundred ninety-two countries will participate in this cultural panorama of architecture, entertainment, art, technology and educational forums.

Like World’s Fairs and Expositions before it, Expo 2000 will feature outstanding examples of architectural drama. However, during this fair, structural design will share top billing with environmental consciousness, as Expo 2000 takes up the creative challenge of using previously built exhibit space and reusing or recycling Expo sites after the fair to underscore its humane, earth-friendly theme.

Architecture, coupled with technology, will be used fundamentally at Expo 2000 to exemplify service to humanity through environmental conservation, compatibility and sustainability. Staging the exposition on the site of the Hannover Fair Grounds, a 222-acres international trade show center, demonstrates how new construction can complement and draw from existing infrastructure. As Expo 2000 construction engulfs and nearly doubles the exhibition site, it will fold existing structures into the Expo 2000 blueprint. Some exhibit halls have been in use for two decades, but because their contemporary, geometric design appears ageless, the integration will be nearly seamless. 

Convention Center at EXPO 2000

A towering semi-cylinder, previously used as a tradeshow administrative building, will become the Expo 2000 Welcome Center. Another in-place structure will house Expo 2000 broadcast facilities, while the facades of other buildings will be used as giant TV screens on which Expo 2000 visitors can watch daily showings of Olympic Summer Games competition, soccer matches, concerts, and the like. A 20-year-old conference hall will become Expo’s international press center.

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