I have a list of blog post ideas but expressing them into proper posts have taken me longer than usual. On a side note, I had visited the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China in mid Sept. I’ll just share my thoughts on the architectural and visual display aspect to fit into the scope of this blog on outdoor advertising.

Taking in view that Expo only lasts about 6 months, these pavilions are designed to impress and give meaning to each country through creative use of space and visual aids. All these while at the same time, to be cost efficient and environmentally friendly. At first glance, I think the following pavilions are most intriguing to me. Starting with the UK Pavilion:

The UK Pavilion is simple yet stunning as The Seed Cathedral with 60,000 seeds embedded into a meaningful and visually impactful display. I am glad I entered this pavilion to see the meaning within it. Otherwise, simply based on its exterior, I would have dismissed as a Giant … erm…

The Switzerland Pavilion has some interesting solar powered lighting that gives it both a different look in the day and in the night:

The Latvia Pavilion was closed when I visited the Expo, but its design and its simplicity stuck a deep cord within me.

And so did the Croatia Pavilion with the fluttering white flags against the brilliant rich red of its pavilion.

I am sure there are many other pavilions that looked more impressive and had more “achievements” including Norwegian Pavilion which I did not get a chance to view. Many pavilions used a lot of giant digital screens but I did not manage to see any really good use of digital techniques that I thought I would have.

The next Expo will be held in Milan, Italy in 2015. So till then.