International Expo "Water and Sustainable Development"
News
The exhibits in the Spain Pavilion will focus on science and creativity
The State-Owned Company for International Expositions (SEEI) has defined the contents of the Spain Pavilion in the International Exposition of Zaragoza 2008. Tomorrow, the contract will be awarded for construction of the Spain Pavilion and Friday 29 sees the publication of the rules for the open tender process for production of the exhibits.
Tomorrow the SEEI Administrative Committee is expected to award the "Contract for the (architectural) work on the Spain Pavilion in the International Exposition of Zaragoza 2008". The architect of the Pavilion, Patxi Mangado, has made a new set of information panels showing the façade and the inside of the Pavilion.
The Pavilion exhibits will be spread over the main floor and the lower ground floor. The total area of the space is 2,315 square metres.
The route through the Pavilion, whose theme will be "Science and Creativity", will be organised over five areas. The rooms on the main floor will house "Water at the Beginning", "Water on Earth", "Water in Spain" and "Climate Change"; the final section on the lower ground floor will house an exhibit on architecture and sustainable development.
WATER AT THE BEGINNING, ON EARTH AND IN SPAIN
In "Water at the Beginning", an audiovisual presentation will be projected onto a domed ceiling showing the appearance of water in the universe and the importance of its presence on our planet.
In the room housing "Water on Earth" (the quantity of water on Earth has always been the same from the beginning, according to Juan Pérez Mercader), the public will be presented with concepts related to the nature of water (formation of molecules, the solar system, the blue planet), its properties (states and properties of water, phenomena associated with water), the hydrological cycle of water (ecosystems and animal and plant life) and its role in the development and maintenance of life and ecosystems. In this way, the nature and properties of water, the water cycle and water as a medium for life will all be shown.
The "Water in Spain" area will show the reality of water in our country: surface water (hydrographic basins, surface water, water masses), hidden water (subterranean water, types of aquifers and ecosystems) and how water is obtained, re-used and managed. The message here is that water is not an unlimited commodity, neither is it freely available, both in terms of quantity and quality.
The spaces devoted to "Water at the Beginning", "Water on Earth" and "Water in Spain" have benefited from the advice of the researcher Juan Pérez Mercader, director of the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB - Astrobiological Centre) in Madrid. In addition, the room housing "Water in Spain" has been set up under the guidance of the Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME - Geological and Mining Institute of Spain), the Centro de Estudios Hidrográficos (CEDEX - Centre for Hydrographic Studies) and Aguas de las Cuencas Mediterráneas (ACUAMED - Waters of the Mediterranean Basins).
CLIMATE CHANGE
The Pavilion would not be complete without a reflection on climate change. The latest scientific research on this issue will be presented with the collaboration of the world's greatest experts on the subject.
Geological, biological and human time will be analysed in an educational but rigorous study of the fundamental laws of nature and the different models of interaction that explain how the planet is changing.
ARCHITECTURE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
This exhibit, conceived as an artistic installation, is curated by Luis Fernández Galiano and presents 12 architectural solutions from renowned Spanish and international architects, whose work shows different aspects of their commitment to sustainable development.
OTHER SPACES
The youngest visitors to the Spain Pavilion will have three rooms devoted to educational workshops, in which children can learn about the wider issues associated with water.
The Pavilion will also have a shop. As well as the exhibit spaces, the first floor of the Spain Pavilion will house a restaurant serving Spanish gourmet cuisine in two areas seating 90 and 60 people respectively. There will also be a lecture theatre for conferences and seminars on this floor with seating for 150. The VIP reception room will be located inside the lecture theatre area.
The purpose of the Sociedad Estatal para Exposiciones Internacionales (SEEI - State Company for International Expositions), presided by Javier Conde de Saro, is the conception and execution of activities, studies and projects that encourage and ensure Spain's attendance at international events organised by the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) in Spain and abroad, either independently or in collaboration with other institutions.
The SEEI also provides advice and guidance, and where appropriate, undertakes specific activities to promote Spain's image at events other than those organised by the BIE, except for financial and commercial trade fairs.
Having negotiated Spain's presence at the EXPO Aichi 2005, the SEEI is in the process of securing Spanish participation in the International Horticultural Exposition for His Majesty The King Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2006 in Thailand, the Spain Pavilion in Zaragoza 2008 and Spain's presence at the Shanghai Universal Exhibition 2010 in China.
