SPANISH PAVILION FOR EXPO 2010 IN SHANGHAI

The Spanish pavilion is a very original architectural configuration based on sharply curved spatial surface facades which are composed of two layers of orthogonally placed tubular elements. The exterior surface of the outer layer is bearing the interwoven wicker panels. The inner layer is bearing a curtain wall solution. Both layers compose a building enclosure which is permeable to light and impermeable to air and rain.

Within the volumes created by this double layer facade, the floors and roofs are arranged. They bear on both the centrally placed steel columns and the facade. The floor slabs are composite deck slabs bearing on top of rolled steel beams.

Initially, the project defined that the whole building would have to be dismantled, moved and reassembled onto another spot and that´s why most of the joints of the structural system are bolted joints. Nevertheless, upon ending the event, the Chinese government decided the pavilion could stay where it is.