Coffee Cluster - The Engine of Ideas

When the Coffee Cluster was created, it took its inspiration from the vast coffee plantations that grow at the edges of the tropical forests of Africa and Central America. The architecture of the cluster evokes the long branches of the tall trees under which the coffee plants grow. The pavilions are a metaphor of these tree trunks.
 
The Cluster is characterized by warm and natural colors that alter with the changing light that filters in from outside through the roofing, giving visitors the illusion of being in a real forest.
 
The Coffee Cluster Coffee is curated by illycaffè, official coffee partner of EXPO 2015, that brings to this project the knowledge, experience and relationships gained in the over eighty years of their history. The pursuit of excellence, passion, innovation and orientation to the sustainable development of Illycaffè are the engines of the initiative.
 
Created in collaboration with the common interests of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the pavilion tells the past, present and future of coffee in its three areas: the product and its journey from bean to cup; the creativity, art and culture that develop around the cup of coffee; and the stories and traditions of the countries of coffee farmers and consumers.

Cluster card
EXHIBITION CONTENT: Università Commerciale "Luigi Bocconi", Italy
CLUSTER RESPONSIBLE: Roberto Morelli
SCIENTIFIC RESPONSIBLE: Chiara Mauri
PROJECT COORDINATOR: illycaffè S.p.A.
CONCEPT AND EXHIBITION LAYOUT: Alessandro Colombo, Stefan Vieths and Francesca Rapisarda
TOTAL AREA: 4.427 sqm
EXHIBITION AREA: 1.250 sqm 
COMMON AREA: 3.000 sqm
EVENTS AREA: 122 sqm

The Cluster structure
The Coffee Cluster takes visitors on an exhibition path “from the land to the coffee cup”, expressed via five main stops: the greenhouse, the transportation, the bar and the meeting area. The path starts outside the pavilion in the green area, decorated with coffee plants – stage for the splendid photographic exhibition by Sebastião Salgado.
Once inside the refreshment area, visitors can enjoy aromatic and delicious coffee. In the events area there will be a number of meetings, presentations and shows. Between the bar and the events area, visitors will find the market area where they can buy coffee products from different countries, as a keepsake and reminder of the aromas and flavors they have experienced.

Coffee cups from around the world
Nowadays coffee is one of the most important drinks in the world, representing a huge source of revenue and development to the many countries that have introduced this cultivation into their agricultural development plans. The cultivation, transformation, transportation and sale of coffee provides work for hundreds of millions of people all over the world. Coffee is one of the primary and most important products in the world economy and was, for many years, second only to oil as a source of foreign currency for producing countries.
 
COUNTRIES IN THE CLUSTER
Burundi
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Ethiopia
Guatemala
Kenya
Rwanda
Uganda
Yemen