Austria Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 | terrain:

The Concept
Austria is world-renowned as a country of culture, with a high standard of living. Austria’s key aim at the Expo Milano 2015 is to reinforce its reputation worldwide as an attractive place to live. Inside its 1,910 square meter exposition site, it showcases the naturally high standards and recreational spaces that make it so well-regarded.

Its positive image are enriched by new elements, such as the landscape and climate, playing a key role in driving awareness around the use of sustainable resources.
A large quantity of food is already produced with sustainable techniques and the range of organic products available to consumers in supermarkets is higher than anywhere else in Europe. Encouraging strong connections between producers, sellers and consumers is central to Austria’s thematic itinerary of food sustainability; its cuisine is the result of its cultural characteristics, being Austria a culturally independent country within the German-speaking world. Another feature of its exposition is the purity of its climate, air and environment.

The Design of the Pavilion
Air is an essential component to the health of food and humans and it is an indicator of ecological balance. Starting with the element of air, of notable excellence in Austria, the Pavilion will give visitors the opportunity to connect with the most well-known aspects of the Country, while discovering new facets. Klaus K. Loenhart of the team Terrain of Graz, has created a space where architecture, nature, culture and research come together in a unique experiential journey. The pavilion creates a small scale Austrian forest that provides 62.5 kilograms of fresh oxygen every hour, without filters or conditioners, which is enough for 1,800 people in an ideal climate, providing wellness and absorbing CO2. It is a green lung that induces the desire for a cleaner world, offering a model for urban practices that can ensure a higher quality of life and demonstrating the benefits of a reforestation policy against the global decline of green areas.