Expo 2000 in Hannover was held under the motto "Man - nature - technology: a new world is emerging" and was dedicated to the problem of sustainable development. However, the exhibition turned out to be a financial failure for many reasons, less than half of the planned number of visitors attended it. At the end of the Expo, its ensemble, bordering a huge exhibition complex, was not in demand by new tenants - again, for a variety of reasons.
As a result, the event turned out to be very “unstable” - both economically and environmentally, which is generally typical for such events - Expo, Olympic Games, various championships, etc. Scenarios thought out in advance for the further use of their structures and infrastructure are invariably implemented with great difficulty and call into question the relevance of at least World Exhibitions - inventions of the 19th century - in our time, when there are other ways to get acquainted with new inventions.
But there was also an unequivocal success at Expo-2000 - the pavilion of the Netherlands, designed by the then young MVRDV bureau. The country participated in the Expo under the slogan “Holland creates space”, which is reminiscent of the national experience of expanding and shaping a landscape fit for human life. But if in the past it was about the drainage of the seabed, in Hanover, a variant of a multi-layered landscape was shown. The floors were typical for the Netherlands, natural and man-made: dunes, greenhouses, the third floor with pots, in which the main attraction grew - the forest of the next, fourth floor. Everything was completed on the roof with a polder with windmills.
The project demonstrated the possibility not only of a vertical landscape, but also of "creating" nature, as well as an ecosystem building that provides itself with renewable resources (wind turbines, etc.). He became the most popular with the public, and also a symbol of radical architecture of the coming 21st century, which made it onto the covers of magazines and books. However, the original plan for its reuse did not materialize, the next, too, the building was even put up for sale on eBay, while it and the exhibition ensemble were in disrepair (you can read about the situation there in 2010 here).
But the pavilion of the Netherlands, thanks to its unusual design, was more difficult to adapt to a new type of use, even when the rest gradually accommodated car dealerships, offices, university departments. But, at the same time, it attracted the most attention - after all, the forest on its fourth floor continued to grow beautifully. The pavilion was visited by the curious or partygoers in unusual places, and the dilapidated building itself was compared to a ruin in a romantic spirit.
In 2015, the situation changed. The pavilion was acquired by the developer Die Wohnkompanie Nord, who decided to build student housing there, as the administrative division and the Faculty of Media, Information and Design of the Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts are located very close. The place for this was: the key idea of the MVRDV project was to save space, so the building occupied only a small part of the plot allocated to the Netherlands, and the rest became public space, which now made it possible for reconstruction, which would not have been possible without such a "completion".
Presenting now a new plan, the architects of MVRDV, who were engaged in both the renovation of the pavilion and the new construction, emphasize that it was this solution, which left a lot of free space around the building, that ensured the project's economic sustainability.
The second important aspect is that, despite the general ruin of the building in 2000, its structure is in excellent condition, otherwise the reconstruction would not make sense.
The pavilion will now accommodate offices, coworking spaces and meeting rooms, while retaining the features of the original structure (total area - 6300 m2). The dunes will become a public space with mini-cafes and exhibition areas, the office will repeat the layout of the greenhouses, the tree pots will turn into glass meeting rooms, the forest will remain a green area, the coworking space will be placed higher, and the restaurant's “bubble” on the roof will not change its function. The external staircase, a recognizable component of the project, will also be preserved.
It is planned to place gardens, sports grounds, a cinema, and study areas on the stepped roofs of the new buildings. The 9-storey building will have 370 student apartments with parking for 300 bicycles downstairs. In the smaller one, the three upper floors will be occupied by offices, the two lower aboveground and basement tiers will be occupied by the garage. The total area of these new structures is 18,900 m2.
The authors of the project would like their renovation plan to become a model for design, taking into account the future change of function. At the same time, one cannot but recall their reminiscent of Expo 2000
the Munich project, also ready for further program changes.
