The authors of the project are Herzog & de Meuron, who worked together with Stefano Boeri, Richard Burdett and William McDonagh, the author of the concept of ecological waste-free construction "from cradle to cradle."
The exhibition area will be located on the north-western outskirts of Milan, between the Massimiliano Fuksas Milan Fair complex and the cemetery. Jacques Herzog called these two zones the "axis of activity" and the "axis of silence." The EXPO will also occupy an elongated section, and the central axis in its layout will be the axis directed to the city center. It will play the role of a city boulevard, where the facades of the national pavilions will face.
The slogan of the world exhibition will be "Feed the planet, energy for life", that is, the main topic will be the problem of food in the near future of mankind, so the architects decided to abandon the expression "architectural vanity" typical for such events: each country will receive a typical pavilion that is very modest in its decision … Participants will be grouped by climatic zone; in the area allocated to them, they will also be able to arrange small fields and beds with agricultural crops characteristic of each particular state.
The dominant features of the complex will be themed pavilions, theaters, arenas, and landscape architecture. The complex will also include greenhouses, where various ecosystems of the world will be presented. The exhibition area will be surrounded by canals along the perimeter.
In addition to the main longitudinal axis of 1.4 km in length, there will also be a transverse one - according to the principle of the cardo and decumanus of the ancient Roman city. In their center there will be a "planetary table" where visitors to the EXPO will be able to taste products typical for the agricultural production of a particular country.
The goal of the authors of the project was to replace the traditional architectural solution of the exhibition ensemble with a more functional one - with an “operating model” of an innovative system for the production of food resources, demonstrating the ability of humanity to continue to exist on the planet in the future, despite existing problems.
EXPO will be a meeting place for agriculture and a city that feeds on the fruits of this industry. The entire exposition will be as visual and realistic as possible: any photographs, virtual simulations and texts on this topic can be found on the global network, and at the world exhibition the public will face the reality of food production, the problems and achievements of the modern agricultural complex.
