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Recent Visitors
Greenopolis to serve as the next Big Apple?
2009. 21 August
(english.people.com.cn)
Taking the shape of a gigantic apple and a detached slice of the world's most popular fruit, the Romania Pavilion is looking to spread the concept of a healthy lifestyle at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away," said Ferdinand Nagy, the Romanian representative to the Shanghai event, quoting the famous idiom. "We present the statement of a healthy lifestyle, sustainable development and knowledge-based solutions for modern society."
"Urban civilization faces multiple challenges nowadays. We try to review the cultural and historical heritage of cities in order to understand, develop and translate that wisdom into a better quality of life for our citizens," he added.
Covering an area of 2,000 sq m, 'Greenopolis' is costing some 2.5 million euros ($3.5 million) to build. Expenses have soared since Romania decided to spend lavishly on the interior decoration and exhibitions in the stand-alone pavilion, the second time the nation has opted to build its own structure at an expo since the end of the World War II.
The multifunctional and spacious design allows for five floors. The ground floor, which is not open to the public, will house administrative offices and dressing rooms for artists. The first floor, which is partly outdoors, is dedicated to musical, theatrical and dance performances, as well as movie screenings and other cultural events.
The second floor is more about relaxing and sampling traditional Romanian food and drink in a spectacular location with a panoramic view. Above that is a multifunctional space and conference room while the top floor is another outdoor space that is also off-limits to the public.
The second part of the structure resembles an apple slice housing an indoor exhibition hall as well as an outdoor terraced lawn for recreation and interaction.
During the six-month-long expo, visitors will be able to watch classic Romanian movies, such as Mihai Viteazul, and their modern-day equivalents as the country runs all-day cultural performances to show what life is like there.
To further magnetize expo tourists, organizers are considering the use of light shows to present the pavilion in different colors rather than the green seen in the artistic rendition, Nagy said.
Romania hopes to attract 7 million visitors to its pavilion, which may later be turned into the nation's consulate.
Source: english.people.com.cn