Expo designs on display

By Dong Zhen  |   2009-6-6  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE 2010 World Expo's building designs will be on show next week as part of an annual urban planning project exhibition.

The designs of about 50 structures being built in the 2010 World Expo sites will be on display during the three-day event.

It will be open to the public free of charge.

The 2009 Shanghai Architecture, Design and Urban Planning Expo opens at Shanghai Mart at 2299 Yan'an Road W. on Wednesday.

Organizers of the Shanghai Exploration and Design Trade Association said they would set up a special area of nearly 200 square meters for the Expo designs.

Models, TV clips and other multi-media techniques will be used help visitors look deeper into the concepts behind the designs.

The fair will also display hundreds of projects from individual Chinese architects and institutions competing for awards presented by the trade association.

The work in competition will range from recently completed projects of urban infrastructure and residential buildings to the conservation of historic architecture.

"Compared to before, the judge panel now places more value on projects' achievement in energy saving," said an association spokesman.

Architecture institutions from other Chinese cities and 30 overseas countries and regions will also display their projects completed in recent years which reflect state-of-the-art techniques, innovation and excellence.

Gensler, the design company of the under-construction Shanghai Center, which will be China's tallest skyscraper, is just one of several leading design and architecture companies from around the world who will show their work at next week's exhibition.