The Pavilion of Future has a theme of ‘’Dream inspires the future of cities.’’  The exhibition starts with an interaction with visitors, inviting them to imagine what cities will be like in the future.  It tells how a city is viewed, through movies, books and sculptures. It also focuses on what was planned and realized in history, what the various possibilities are in a future city and points to the spiritual elements that have always driven human progress.

The pavilion will be parted into different sections.  The first one, ‘’Dream of Yesterday’’ features a gigantic screen for science-fiction movies. Following, ‘’Dream and Practice’’ uses digital books to present how people used to depict future cities.  There will be nine sculptures displayed to echo the theme of a better city.  An animated film will be shown on a 36-meter-high screen at the ‘’Multiple Possibilities’’ section. Five dreamlike street settings named Ecological City, City of Wisdom, City of Water, Space City and City of Energy will be displayed on the background around, to describe the various possibilities of city development and life in the future.  In the ‘’Dream Is Approaching’’ section there will be themes such as Intelligent Home, Healthy Community, Low-Carbon City and Harmonious Environment.  The themes will namely focus on understanding the trend of technological advancement.

Teemu Kurkela, lead architect of the JKMM Kirnu team

The first time I saw Kirnu in January, they were just putting on the scale-like surface shingles. The site was filled with concrete, steel, dust and yelling in several languages. Now, 5 days into Expo, Kirnu is the breath of fresh air it was designed to be. Round in form and light in color, it brings forward the cool, yet exciting features that we Finns so love. And it has already captured the hearts of around 10% of daily visitors to the Expo!

WDC in Kirnu

There is a wide array of Finnish design on display at Kirnu. From Marimekko and Iittala classics to the Powder Flower long board displayed at the bottom of the picture on the left. As you walk around the exhibition you see Finland today and in the future, through design and gigantic media displays, you hear it in the music and can even taste it if you venture into the Helsinki Design Cafe on the bottom floor. Today, as many times before, I was so proud to be a Finn!

3rd floor event space in Kirnu

The pavilion of Urban Planet displays cities as a source of both problems and solutions.  The pavilion, located in Zone B has two parallel spiral ramps which offers a good view of a 32-meter-diameter globe.  Its five sections explain how the development, sometimes overdevelopment, of cities produces ecological problems, and how people awaken to urbanization and environmental changes. The pavilion will have a ‘’Blue Planet’’, a huge globe which represents the earth in a poetic and metaphorical way, telling how cities, urban development and human behavior impact on the earth.   We will also be seeing the interesting short movie ‘’The Only Planet We Have’’, which tells about the interaction between cities, the earth and people.

The Footprint pavilion traces birth and growth of cities, their philosophies and the urban wisdom, centering innovation and harmony.  The Pavilion is located in Zone D and includes three exhibition halls – ‘’City’s Origin,’’ ‘’Growing City’’ and ‘’Urban Wisdom.’’

The first exhibition, City’s Origin Hall displays the formation of cities, ancient workship systems including patron and saints of ancient cities. The second exhibition, Growing City Hall will show full-blown cities, including Florence, Amsterdam, Byzantium and Istanbul.  Finally, Urban Wisdom Hall will exhibit the Industrial Revoluton era with New York and London as two examples.  The exhibition also includes culture of the Chinese Grand Canal and the urban renewal efforts in Shanghai

Oman is situated at the crossroads of three continents and four seas.  The pavilion’s exterior combines elements of two of its famous historic forts.  At the rear there will be the distinctive round tower of Oman’s old capital,  Nizwa, while in the there will be the elegant tower of Sohar, a port city once known as  ’’The Gateway to China.’’

The pavilion, going by the theme ’’Oman – The Evolving Journey,’’ will consist of three sections.  The first will showcase Oman geographically, with its deserts, mountains and warm trees.  After that visitors will be leaded into the second section, where they will experience the cutural and social heritage of Oman. The third section will show the values of Oman, living in harmony with nature via sustainable use of available resources, which is a key determinant in Oman’s future.

The structure of the pavilion is completed with a stylized glass enclosure, which reminds us of a ganjah, one of the largest and most beautiful of traditional Oman saililing ships.

The northeastern Chinese province Jilin has finished their pavilion.  The theme of the Jilin Pavilion is ’’Create a Green Livable City, Enjoy a Modern Beautiful Life.’’  The pavilion will concentrate on bringing harmony between humans and nature, combining the mountain garden, forests and Tianchi Changbai Mountain.

The Jilian Pavilion has three exhibition areas.  In the first one, visitors will smell the fragance of a pine forest, which is presented by using colorful dawning art and multimedia.  The second area will have an interactive screen and a high speed car simulator which will make visitors feel the high developing speed of economy and culture in the cities of Jilin Province.  In the last area, visitors will be able to experience a tour of Changbai Mountain in the 4D cinema.

The exterior of the pavilion will create the feeling of being on Changbai Mountain with forest underneath.  Special lighting will be used to create a lively environment which consists of Jilin landscape.  What Jilin wants to bring to Expo theme ’’Better City, Better Life’’ is showing that a modernized city in the forest can be done.

Shanghai Expo 2010 will provide 80 million tour maps for visitors.  The free maps will provide important information on navigating on the Expo site, including information on pavilions, events, drinking water taps and toilets.  Apart from the Chinese version of the map, there will be versions in English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Arabian.