Swedish spirit inspires visitors

The Sweden pavilion with its theme of "Spirit of Innovation" will showcase Sweden's creative way to improve the urban environment.

Seen from above, the shape of the pavilion is like Sweden's national flag. The outside walls show a city-like grid pattern while the inside walls are covered with images of nature. The pavilion comprises four cube-like structures. These cubes are connected by elevated walkways, and include VIP areas, a shop, a cafe, and a large covered courtyard.

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Designed by Sweco, a Swedish architecture company, the pavilion is reusable.

"A central idea that has influenced our design is a meeting between city, man and nature. We strongly believe that both nature and city are places for contemplation, recreation and inspiration," said chief architect Johannes Tull.

As a reusable structure the design of the pavilion emphasizes the concept of recycling.

"The Swedish pavilion has a large wooden entrance constructed with environmentally friendly glue laminated timber. The building has special heat reflection paint and perforated steel panels that will shade the walls of the building. A special lighting concept has also been developed with high quality low-energy lighting used to illuminate both the interior and exterior," Tull said.

The five areas of the pavilion are connected at one intersection, which symbolizes the harmonious interaction between city and countryside. Through this crossroad, visitors are able to reach every section of the pavilion easily.

Creativity and innovation are displayed everywhere in the Sweden Pavilion, inviting people to interact and think deeply.

The entrance hall is decorated with photos, and incorporates sound and lighting to form a display of the Swedish countryside.

In the hall of environmental challenges, visitors can listen to a documentary about environmental problems Sweden has faced.

In the middle of the room for solutions stands a kitchen that reaches from floor to ceiling. This kitchen symbolizes the production unit in the home, the place where we can all make a difference through the small things we do to implement smart, sustainable everyday solutions.

In the next room, visitors can choose between using the stairs and taking the slightly faster option: a large slide disappearing down into the floor. In the Spirit of Innovation Hall, light boxes hang from the wall and ceiling, just like a starry sky, showing pictures of innovations that have become reality thanks to the "Spirit of Innovation".

In the last room displays and explanations of the most exciting future innovation projects of prominent cities and regions in Sweden are on show. There are even robots on hand to accept visitors' business cards.

"Sweden is a country of few people compared to China. The cities are much smaller and the fact that we have not been involved in war for quite some time has enabled cities to develop with modern green technology whilst keeping the historical buildings," Tull said.