EXPO 2020

AUSTRIA SMALL IS THE NEW BIG

“Austria: Light me up” = Austrian atmosphere in a tangible art object.

A human-scale pavilion, where everyone is invited to hear / see / smell / taste or simply feel Austria. It is an intimate overall concept developed by an interdisciplinary team. The pavilion embodies an avant-garde, innovative supporting structure, which is particularly compelling due to the high degree of sustainability. This sustainability is achieved by recycling parts of the original construction and using them for ensuing buildings or as a kind of exhibition that wanders between individual installations. The interplay of ornamental facade design elements enables an unmistakable first impression of Austria as a beautiful and mountainous Alpine republic. A sensual exhibition made of light — a highly technological medium for communication on a non-verbal level — which, in an original and creative way by use of concrete examples, illustrates the interplay of individuals with their surroundings, and at the same time draws visitors into the spell of our diverse, multifaceted landscapes.

The second place for the Austrian pavilion for Expo 2020 uses the motif of the landscape as the linchpin of the narrative about Austria. By means of five landscape types characteristic of Austria, visitors experience and learn about the country's special qualities on an emotional level. They symbolically traverse Austria's diverse landscapes in various spatial situations: from the peaks of the mountains, over glistening glaciers, green forests and blue lakes to the country's Pannonian, steppe-like lowlands. The immediacy and sustainability of a sensual experience represent a unique opportunity in the context of the Expo — where visitors are confronted with a considerable amount of information — to directly interest the international public in Austria's special features. They transform the individual rooms into unique, atmospheric, multi-sensory settings.

The tranquil atmosphere in the atriums interacts with the intensive experiences in the interior spaces. The view of the sky, the daylight-dependent atmosphere and the reduction of the information level invite visitors to take a deep breath, pause and reflect.

In addition to the natural beauty of the whole picture, the story the Austrian pavilion offers is also a story of the usual, the small and the individual.