04 May 2015
Bahrain Pavilion at Milan Expo 2015 Among the Most Popular
The Milan Expo 2015 features purpose-built pavilions housing exhibitions from over 140 countries and private organizations and is designed around the overarching theme of ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’. The pavilion of the kingdom of Bahrain at the Expo Milano 2015, ‘Archaeologies of Green’, which is a poetic interpretation of the cultural agrarian heritage of the country, has attracted the attention of many visitors. The reactions of many pavilion lovers were reflected through social media networks recorded by the British architecture magazine Dezeen, which estimated that Bahrain’s pavilion equaled in popularity to that of Britain and Japan.
With ten distinctive fruit gardens, containing trees that will be fruit-bearing at different moments throughout the six-month duration of the exhibition, the pavilion also features archeological artifacts that celebrate the millennia long tradition of agriculture and perpetuate the many myths of Bahrain as the location of the Garden of Eden and the land of the million palm trees.
In order to enhance the visitors’ knowledge and discovery of Bahrain, a selection of Bahraini food items prepared by Italian chefs was presented at the pavilion coffee shop. It will be the only single-storey pavilion at Expo 2015, and is also set to feature an open top café. The architecture of the pavilion has the role of bringing the visitors of the expo in touch with the most intimate ecologies of Bahrain. The framework is conceived as a system of staircases and platforms to navigate visitors’ into five scenarios. The terraces provide privileged, unexpected, intimate viewpoints on the exhibition. The framework traces the borders of the exhibition but, at the same time, it aides the visitors in expanding the boundaries of their perception and to feel immersed in an original state of nature: Eden.
Bahrain Milan Expo 2015 pavilion also features various programmes, including henna decoration, Arab coffee, designing baskets, making wooden boxes, folk music, and Bahraini cuisine, and displays agricultural artifacts dating back to the Dilmun civilisation.
Launching on our Expo-dedicated National Day event on the 4th September until 8th September, Bahrain Pavilion visitors will be treated to an enriching experience of the country’s hospitality and local culture. Local traditions, such as basket weaving, will provide live demonstrations of the country’s most important crafts. Fashion shows of traditional Bahraini clothes by Hind Matar will attract many lovers of traditional fashions. The thoub and its distinct embroidery will shed light on the shaping of local identity throughout the ages; with design motifs often derived from nature and the surrounding environment, including plants and architecture. Bahraini style henna application and decoration will be the focus of the henna artists’ presentation at the Bahrain Pavilion.
In addition, while sipping coffee, a distinguished musical performance of the Fjijiri tradition by the Qalali Group connecting audiences to Bahrain’s pearling heritage. This musical tradition passed down through the years was, according to folklore, learned through a unique experience with supernatural forces.
Bahrain’s Expo Milan 2015 pavilion’s ambassadors, who are Alia Al- Moayyad, Khaled Al-Muharraqi, Narees Qanbar, Rim Al-Moalla and Ahmed Taleb, will represent a wide variety of industries and aspects of the Bahraini elite; Urban architecture, design, and environment protection, which are related to the main theme of the Expo, which is ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’.
Themed ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’, Expo Milano 2015, which is a non-profit commercial worldwide exhibition, revolves around nutrition and sustainability, highlighting the importance of protecting the planet’s natural resources. Various national pavilions shed light on the diverse cultural characters of countries around the world, allowing visitors to sample traditional foods and learn more about the cultural attributes and agrarian heritages of different nations.
Open from May 1 to October 31 with 184 days of events, the Expo 2015 will host over 140 participants (144 countries and 3 international organizations) in an area covering one million square meters to accommodate over 20 million expected visitors.
