Stunning design for Łódź’s horticultural EXPO revealed
World-renowned architectural firm Chapman Taylor has unveiled their stunning design for Łódź’s Horticultural EXPO.
Set over 80 hectares, (800,000sqm) the display will be split into 4 zones; 3rd May park, Baden Powell park, Zieleniec area and Zatorze area.
Set over 80 hectares, (800,000sqm) the display will be split into 4 zones; 3rd May park, Baden Powell park, Zieleniec area and Zatorze area.
The 3rd May park, also known as the ‘Nature of Leisure’ has been designed to offer sports and fitness opportunities for people of all ages as well as family recreation within forest and lake environments.
Baden Powell Park, also known as the ‘Nature of Living’, will be the centre of the main EXPO programme.
Baden Powell Park, also known as the ‘Nature of Living’, will be the centre of the main EXPO programme.
The park will include the Polish and City of Łódź Pavilions, National Gardens from international participants, an amphitheatre, a viewing tower, exhibition halls and the ‘Gardens of Four Cultures’.
Zieleniec (green) area will also be known as ‘Nature of Health’ and includes environmentally friendly design solutions combined with local medical university’s Health Academy’s horti-therapy programme, ‘Gardens of Healthy Food’, ‘Gardens of Senses’ and the Circular Village which will encourage recycling.
Zieleniec (green) area will also be known as ‘Nature of Health’ and includes environmentally friendly design solutions.
The final area known as Zatorze or the ‘Nature of Business’ will host conferences, seminars and be a place for promoting best practices and business networking.
Chapman Taylor’s ‘Masterplan’ has been developed in consultation with the city and 50 other stakeholders.
After EXPO completes, some facilities will remain, while others will be converted to new uses such as permanent exposition spaces or an Amphitheatre.
The site which incorporates two existing parks, is part of the city’s long term urban development strategy to introduce more green space within the old factory city’s urban fabric. Once complete it will be part of a network of over 120km of green trails.
Łódź won the chance to host the 2024 EXPO in 2018 after being awarded by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), an intergovernmental organization of 170 countries.
According to Chapman Taylor, the EXPO “is part of the city’s longer-term development strategy incorporating substantially more green space within the city’s urban fabric as an engine of urban regeneration, creating pocket gardens, woonerfs (living streets) and a network of over 120km of green trails as the core elements of the “Blue-Green Network” – a spatial development strategy connecting the city with its green surroundings, natural parks and forests, rivers, water reservoirs and trails.”
This is the first time that such an event has been hosted in Poland and as the country’s third largest city Łódź was seen as the perfect location to welcome an international audience.
It is anticipated that 4.5 million visitors will attend the EXPO where there will be displays from over 40 countries during the six months in which it will be officially open.
A city with a rich history, Łódź has recently had a rebirth through modernising old buildings and renovating rundown areas of the city. Łódź was a manufacturing powerhouse and key part of Poland’s growth during the second industrial revolution due to textile manufacturing.
This is the first time that such an event has been hosted in Poland and as the country’s third largest city Łódź was seen as the perfect location to welcome an international audience.
Chapman Taylor was established in London in 1959, their first project being New Scotland Yard, the London Police Headquarters.
The company has gone on to design over 2,000 projects picking up over 250 prestigious awards for their work.
Previous hosts of the Horticultural Expo have been Vienna, Paris, Hamburg, Montréal, Osaka and Chiang Mai, to name a few.
