WALKABOUT POLITECNICO OF MILAN Y2 AUSTRALIAN PAVILLION EXPO 2015 The project aim was to create a Pavilion in witch visitor would experience the WalkAbout concept, an initiation ritual of Australian aborigines that consists of walking without any fixed path, randomly. The project is characterized by a voronoi pattern creating a labyrinth structure which gives visitors a flexibility in choosing the path rather than a generic maze. Vegetation is inside cell space, which cools the surroundings and solves the drainage issues. The exhibition and leisure spaces use several enlarged voronoi cells in the center area of the lot, however being apart from each other enhances the movement of people. On the ground floor are mainly exhibition and rest rooms. On the first floor, several cells are combined together to meet the need of restaurant and bar areas, at the same time preserving the voronoi topology at ground level. At first, when entering the lot, one passes through “buffer zone”, low-rise voronoi cells covered with grass layer for two main reasons: creating sitting and relaxing spaces and establishing a microclimate around pavilion due to evaporation reasons. Then one goes around medium-rise closed cells with semitransparent walls, which prepares the visitor for the exhibition space. The Milan Expo 2015 pavilion is a temporary structure, that is why the main materials are glulam and layered wood, which are sustainable and easy to recycle. The exhibition and leisure volumes are characterized by a vertical bended glulam structure which create regular size openings optimized for maximum shading performances. The walls merge continuously with the roof giving overall structural stability. Transparent and opaque Etfe panels are used for the overall cover of the functional cells.
Apply the function and strcuture of a maze to a Voronoi pattern, where no main entrances are designed and visitors can enter freely.
