Monaco Pavilion at Milan Expo 2015

The interior of the Monaco Pavilion is made of piles of wooden transport crates stacked upon each other to symbolise all the initiatives and actions that will, thanks to Expo 2015, be ready for export all over the world. This interior is made by the German studio facts and fiction and is conceived of as an “ideas hangar” with eleven interaction stations that illustrate the themes presented by the Principality of Monaco.

The visitors can come in through a number of different entrances which themselves reflect the multiplicity of points of view there are with regard to the environment, recycling, sustainable fishing, deforestation, the problems afflicting the oceans and the programmes of cooperation that have already been embarked upon in Madagascar, Burkina Faso and Mongolia.

The recycling theme will also see the start-up of new initiatives at the end of Expo Milano 2015. The whole structure will itself be dismantled and reused in Burkina Faso as an operational headquarters for the Red Cross. The process thus entirely accords with the circular economy championed by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and is an exemplary case for the whole of world of Expo.

The Concept

The Principality of Monaco has organized its participation at Expo Milan 2015 around the themes of solidarity and sharing, to show how prosperity gained through the centuries can be used as an incentive to promote the values ​​of solidarity, environmental protection and the growth of a green economy.

The exhibition focuses on three main themes, namely: cooperation, with several examples of projects developed to help other countries to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals of the UN; governance, with support of companies that develop innovation in the food industry and the Monaco Blue Initiative, a think-tank of scientists and industrialists that safeguards protected marine areas; education, proposing stimulating and lively educational policies, such as a joint awareness campaign with the WWF, which has proclaimed the Principality of Monaco the first country "without blue fin tuna."

Its message is one of sustainability, aligned with Monaco’s culinary culture, which successfully brings together the Mediterranean charms of nearby Italy and France, and the ideas of great chefs and popular tradition. Excellence and Solidarity – A New Look at Feeding the Planet The design of the Pavilion

The exhibition space of the Principality of Monaco, which covers a total area of 1,010 square meters, is a project by Italian architect Enrico Pollini and presents itself as a space that invites visitors in from many different access points, reflecting the opportunities of ecology, recycling and reuse.

A large number of freight containers are used as part of the architecture, to remind us of the role of exchange represented by the Principality of Monaco, and finding opportunities for creative salvage. On the wooden roof, and similar to emergency curtains, is a compound of sphagnum, a light, permeable peat moss that allows the cultivation of Mediterranean crops. There are vertical gardens and a system for collecting rainwater. The interior design, managed by the German agency Facts and Fiction, will draw visitors into a free-flow tour to explore a variety of topics that raise awareness, as proposed by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Oceanographic Institute. At the end of 2015, the structure will be dismantled and sent to an aid project of the Red Cross in Burkina Faso.