Defining an entire nation in a single building, especially one as complex and contradictory as the US, is a daunting task.

Expo Milano 2015 is themed “Feed the Planet, Energy for Life” – an entire Expo focused on the issues of global food security and the impacts of our personal food choices.

The USA Pavilion for Expo Milano showcases America’s unique role in the future of food and hosts a global conversation about the challenge of feeding more than 9 billion people by 2050. “American Food 2.0: United to Feed the Planet,” tells America’s food story – one of innovation, diversity and entrepreneurship – through topics including food security and policy, international relations, science and technology, nutrition and health, and culinary culture.

The pavilion participates in the conversation by acting as a scaffolding for ideas, and by embracing and displaying some very American hybridizations: analog and digital, natural and technological, innovative and recycled. On the extremely long and narrow site, defined by the unusually urbane masterplan, the pavilion is bounded by an analog wall (containing elevators, escalators, stairs, mechanical shafts, etc.); a purely digital roof (glazed in SPD SmartGlass that instantly switches from clear to opaque to respond to environmental conditions); a green Vertical Farm (employing hydroponic towers in a motion driven array); and a promenade rising through the pavilion made from salvaged Coney Island boardwalk.

Unlike most pavilions historically, and recent US Pavilions in particular, American Food 2.0 is an invitation to enter a visible and transparent open public forum. The pavilion is characterized by openness, transparency, and accessibility. It is composed of sustainable design elements and with myriad references to American culture. Rather than a forced march through a fixed exhibition (as in the last Expo) the pavilion has a variety of experiences; a self-guided and flexible space, as well as a traditional linear exhibition. The building is a 'farm industrial' inspired structure embracing both simple, industrial agricultural architecture and advanced technology in a very American amalgam of opposites.

Open for the six month Expo, the building will then be dismantled and will be reused as well as recycled, as required by the International Bureau of Expositions. It may be an oxymoron of sustainable design, but is a bold act of public diplomacy to be seen by an estimated 25 million people.

Concept The USA Pavilion is an open concept that will evoke the lines of a traditional American barn. The American pavilion will showcase American leadership in the global food arena as responsible and diverse; sustainability through science, technology, innovation and free trade. It aims to foster awareness of and enthusiasm for American cuisine, chefs, products and purveyors; highlight American talent, ingenuity and entrepreneurship and the United States as a premier business and travel destination; connect people and businesses in the United States, Italy, and throughout Europe, building on strong historical ties; and provide a fun, engaging, informative, and delicious experience to all. From farm to table, in local communities and globally, the United States is addressing the issues of sustainability, food security, food access, nutrition, and waste. American business and science are leading the way in sustainability and innovation in food and agriculture to help feed the world and is engaging on these issues with Italy and all of Europe.

The Pavilion Architecture

The United States is presenting a dynamic pavilion that showcases America’s unique role in the future of food around the world, and creates a global conversation about the challenge of feeding more than 9 billion people nutritiously by 2050. With the theme “American Food 2.0: United to Feed the Planet” it tells America’s food story – one of innovation, diversity and entrepreneurship – through topics including food security and policy, international relations, science and technology, nutrition and health, and culinary culture.

Designed by award-winning architect James Biber, the USA Pavilion pays homage to America’s rich agricultural history with an open design delimited by a large vertical farm that will be harvested daily. The fully sustainable building features a boardwalk made from wood repurposed from the Coney Island boardwalk, a large video installation, interactive exhibition areas, a rooftop terrace, VIP meeting spaces, and retail.

Pavilion programs and events include Food Truck Nation, a series of food trucks serving iconic and innovative regional American foods and beverages; the James Beard American restaurant in central Milan, showcasing American cuisine with a rotating roster of American culinary talent; and a Student Ambassador program through which 120 American college students will act as guides and docents for the pavilion and at U.S. cultural events and conferences.

Friends of the USA Pavilion Milano 2015 – a collaboration between the James Beard Foundation and the International Culinary Center, in association with the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy – was selected by the U.S. Department of State to organize the U.S. presence at Expo Milano. The pavilion’s management and program is directed by President Dorothy Hamilton (founder and CEO of ICC), CEO Charlie Faas, and Chief Creative Officer Mitchell Davis (EVP of JBF). Thinc Design is serving as USA Pavilion exhibition designer.