Osaka Expo ‘70 and Metabolism
Expo 70 was a world fair placed in Osaka prefecture in 1970, the first one ever held in Japan (and even Asia). It consisted of an outsized international exhibition about countries' accomplishments in terms of architecture, technologies, and economic development. Themed after the slogan Progress and Harmony for Mankind, the event aimed to display new promises of technology to achieve peace and stability to the world. This post is a replica of the linked article.
The master plan of the expo was commissioned to Kenzo Tange, a prominent figure in contemporary Japanese architecture. With the help of another 12 architects - Metabolist group included - they designed and organized several elements for the fair.
Osaka became a playground for Metabolism, an empty field to test their ideas about future, equipment, and organic development. The results astonished, streets became full of life with space-age installations, colors flooded all 330 hectares of responsible terrain. Wonders built as a forecast of the future about to come.
As a central piece of the fair, the designers conceptualized a place where people from around the globe could interact and socialize. The thoughts of a cover unified space where attendants could meet each other, they named it the Symbol Zone, a large plaza covered by a gigantic metal-framed roof:
In the middle of the plaza, you could find the Tower of Sun, a monumental sculpture made by Taro Okamoto. The 70-meter-high tower was a representation of the different faces of the sun during seasons.
With more than 64 million attendees, and 77 countries invited to participate, the event was a complete success. Besides Japanese-designed installations, other nations had the opportunity to showcase their pavilions, and they did not disappoint at all.
Swiss pavilion & Australian pavilion ^
Soviet pavilion & British pavilion (orly?) ^
French & Italian pavilions ^
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