Lisa: Your Local Tour Guide in SHanghai – on SHownbylocals.com

The Italian pavilion will be a rectangular shape, laced with intersecting lines that seen from above, resembles the start of the Chinese game pick-up-sticks, also known in Italy as the Shanghai Game, where a number of sticks are thrown in a random pile. The 3,600-square-meter structure comprises 20 functional modules of different shapes, bounded by the “sticks.” Each module represents one of Italy’s 20 regions, thereby making the entire pavilion embody a mini Italian city. The modules can be reassembled freely. After the Expo, the building will be disassembled and reconfigured. The pavilion will also make use of a cutting-edge construction material known as transparent concrete. The design also represents the harmony of different cultures and regions. When people walk in the pavilion, they will feel like walking in a city that combines Shanghai’s Shikumen-style lanes and an Italian square. Moreover, the form also highlights the topographic complexity of Italian cities, with its numerous short narrow roads and alleys which suddenly open onto a large square, a characteristic which can also be found in the traditional Chinese urban centers. A psychoanalytical effect of comfort is given by an internal garden, the presence of water and natural light which spreads throughout the area across the patios and by the walls.