South Korea Pavilion

Another Shanghai World Expo 2010 pavilion of note is the South Korea Corp pavilion as it is enveloped entirely in a white translucent PVC fabric. Wrapping around the upper floors of the pilotis structure like a water wave, the fabric encloses the exhibition areas in a series of helical swathes that are backlit with LED lights. The lighting is programmed by computer to show five colors—red, yellow, blue, white and green—during the night as an interpretation of the eastern concept of the traditional five elements. The fabric façade is attached to the building via vertical steel tubular girders and connecting beams. Because both the planar swath of each fabric helix and the curves of the façade are irregular, none of the fabric panels is exactly the same, requiring a great deal of design calculations and custom fitting.