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NZ pavilion to focus on 'Cities of Nature' experience at Expo

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-15 13:52

WELLINGTON -- New Zealand Commissioner-General for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, Phillip Gibson, said his country will invest 30 million NZ dollars ($16.8 million) to build a 2,000 sq meter independent pavilion to focus on its "Cities of Nature: living in Sky and Earth" experience.

artist's impression of the New Zealand Pavilion

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Gibson said he believed the Shanghai Expo will historically be seen as an epic event. New Zealand's much larger commitment to this Expo reflects the fast growing ties between China and New Zealand, he said.

"That is one of the reasons why we were among the first to accept the invitation to participate. The resources and organization that China is committing to the Expo are massive. New Zealand has been very grateful for all the cooperation we have been receiving," he said.

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"We hope that ours will be a strong contribution to this historic event," he added.

New Zealand announced its decision to participate in the Shanghai Expo during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's official visit to New Zealand in April 2006.

"So planning and preparation have been underway for a good three years now. Milestones have included the selection of the Pavilion concept and design in late 2007, our signing of the official participation contract in May 2008 and the recent moves to start actual construction on site." he said.

"Our participation in the Expo is a major project for New Zealand and as for any such undertaking, there will inevitably be challenges. But so far we are on target," said Gibson, who also served as New Zealand's Commissioner-General for the Aichi Expo in Japan in 2005. New Zealand government's investment in the Shanghai Expo is five times more than the Aichi Expo.

Shanghai Expo's theme "Better City, Better Life" is also a theme New Zealand is well placed to interpret. New Zealand is a highly urbanized country, with some 86 percent of its 4.29 million population living in cities and towns.

New Zealand cities are relatively small with low population densities, and they have high quality of life ratings.

The aim of the New Zealand Pavilion is to present a welcoming vision of a nation that is striving to bring its cities into a sustainable balance with nature; a country in which natural beauty, the inspiration that it brings, and the lifestyles that it permits, can exist alongside and contribute to a modern and innovative first world economy.

The theme of the New Zealand Pavilion is "Cities of Nature: Living between Land and Sky." In its form and content the Pavilion takes inspiration from the Maori creation story in which the god Tane separated his parents, the Sky and the Earth, to create space both for the natural world and for human beings.

"Our Pavilion will be a distinctive one. It will be wedged shaped with a roof top garden that will be visually very attractive. We were fortunate to be allocated an excellent 2,000 square meter site, close to the Chinese Theme Pavilion, so our Pavilion will be very visible," said Gibson.

A "Cities of Nature" experience in the Pavilion where visitors will be taken through a day in the life of a composite New Zealand city starting from the sea, through the suburbs, the city center and out toward the mountains; various themes will overlap in this -- the progression of the day from dawn to dusk, from children to adults, New Zealand's majestic scenery, New Zealanders as multi-cultural, vibrant and creative, Gibson explained.

Visitors will exit the Cities of Nature experience near the top of the wedge, and will then walk back down toward the veranda area through a garden planted with New Zealand trees and flowers, and making use of sculptural elements, audio and lighting.

Gibson expects a total of seven million visitors to the New Zealand Pavilion during the Shanghai Expo period.

"So our Pavilion will combine a range of characteristics -- distinctive design, creative high tech, but also culture and very much human interaction. We want it to be a total experience that showcases New Zealand and who we are as a country and people. And of course in doing so, we hope to make a compelling impression on visitors," said Gibson.