One of the main attractions of any Universal Exposition is the content of the pavilions. Inspired by the general theme "Better cities, better life", the content of the Spanish pavilion has been conceived and designed by Bigas Luna, Basilio Martin Patino and Isabel Coixet, three of the country’s most outstanding film directors.
From a generational perspective, the three halls of the pavilion (with a surface area of 2,500sqm) tell the story of the changes that have taken place in Spanish cities since the 1970s up until now, under the slogan “From the city of our parents to that of our children”.
The building of the Spanish Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010
The aim is to transmit a modern, contemporary image of Spain and its cities by means of contents that are easily-understandable and attractive for Chinese visitors, the great majority of whom know nothing about Spain.
After the public tender called by SEEI, UTE EMPTY-NOE was commissioned to develop content, which not only included the use of audiovisual equipment, but also its combination with spectacular facilities, special effects and live performances keyed to surprising visitors.
EMPTY entrusted SONO, a company specializing in engineering projects and audiovisual consulting, with the project’s technical design and the installation of audiovisual equipment in the pavilion.
In 2008, SONO’s team of engineers, together with EMPTY and the creative team (Bigas Luna, Martin Patino and Isabel Coixet), started by defining each one of the pavilion’s spaces, while SONO also provided the creative team with possible technical solutions. While the pavilion was being designed, a number of prototypes were built and a series of tests carried out, in which Barco collaborated by lending equipment and sending a group of its engineers to Spain.
The process ended with a detailed working project and an exhaustive work plan.
Hall 1
Origin (Bigas Luna)
Bigas Luna was commissioned to open the exhibition at the Spanish Pavilion, with a trip back in time aimed at highlighting what differentiates Spain from other countries: strength, the DNA of everything Spanish in the world.
Hall in the Spanish Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010, designed by Bigas Luna
This hall is equipped with 19 Barco CLM R10s projecting images on two curved screens, each measuring some 50x5m, via a very high definition video signal.
The signal is generated by the Watchout system and transmitted to the projectors via fibre optic cable. The projections form a part of an audiovisual show, using 24 independent sound channels, machinery for moving objects, spectacular lighting and a system specially designed by SONO to make the floor vibrate synchronically with projection footage.
Hall 2
Cities (Basilio Martín Patino)
It is not easy to present the changes undergone by Spanish cities over the last 40 years in under seven minutes, but no one could do this better than Basilio Martin Patino. Combining footage from film archives and recent filming, Martin Patino tells an ironic and, at the same time, tender story of present-day Spain, intentionally fragmented, with the aim of touching spectators, rather than informing them.
Hall in the Spanish Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010, designed by Basilio Martín Patino
A whole urban life is condensed into seven minutes of footage in a helicoidal hall equipped with a multi-screen system.
Twenty-five Barco CLM HD8s are used to project the film on five different-sized rectangular screens, distributed irregularly around the hall.
Watchout technology is used to generate the video signal, and all elements are controlled by Medialon software. As in Hall 1, the show is a combination of sound, video and lighting.
Hall 3
Children (Isabel Coixet)
The Spanish Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010 ends with a dream. The future, as seen by the film director Isabel Coixet, is a place of hope and the promise of a better world. For this reason, the hall is dominated by Miguelin, a baby that dreams of his surroundings, the cities in which our children will, and are already, living.
Hall in the Spanish Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010, designed by Isabel Coixet
Using three Barco CLM R10s, images of small children, greeting visitors in Spanish and Chinese, are projected on a curtain, creating the magical, dreamy atmosphere that the director wanted to capture. The seven-metre high Miguelin dominates the hall due to his overwhelming and colossal hyper-reality.
All pavilions at the Shanghai Expo 2010 from The China Way on Vimeo.
