Holy See Pavillion, EXPO 2015 | studio quattroassociati

The compact white volume conveys the essentiality of a boulder the surfaces of which act as supports for the message adopted by the Catholic Church as its central theme for EXPO 2015: “Not by bread alone”.
The sober and evocative architecture of the Holy See Pavilion welcomes visitors with the famous biblical phrase translated into 13 languages, with writing used as a poetic image, an evocation of words that come down from above like manna from heaven.
Inside the pavilion, two half vaults become architectural fragments that evoke archetypal spaces of Christendom. They capture natural light from above and converge into the focal point at the base, into the long wood table around which the exhibition revolves, as the symbol of hospitality and the synthesis of the individual and community experience.
The pavilion relies on lightweight drywall construction systems in order to achieve a light architectural object and allow for quick construction.
The metal load-bearing shell follows the shape of the building envelope coated by a curtain wall system with Acquapanel external cladding boards.
The inscriptions are made of laser cut steel sheets.

client: Holy See, Archdiocese of Milan, CEI
architectural design: Quattroassociati
gross floor area: 500 sqm