‘Energy Transition for Green Growth’ is the theme of France’s sprawling pavilion at Expo 2017 Astana. Located in one of 14 U-shaped buildings at the centre of the expo site, the France Pavilion is one of the largest of any national pavilions at the Expo, with 1,083 sq. m. of exhibition space and a further 700 sq. m. of meeting space, including a 200-seat multipurpose room for technical presentations, working meetings and conferences.
Pico provided fit-out service for the pavilion, helping to create this unique showcase for the technological excellence of France and its many forward-looking, eco-friendly companies and start-ups.
Seven corporate partners were selected to create displays inside the pavilion: Total, Vicat, Saint-Gobain, Peugeot, ITER, Syctom, and the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, ADEME. Each has about 100 sq. m. of space to showcase their work and achievements in new energy. In a unique fusion of French culture and industrial achievement, each of these partners chose its own historical French personality. Total chose the heroic writer, poet and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry; while Vicat selected famous French engineer Louis Vicat, who invented artificial cement at the beginning of the 19th century. Other famous personalities include Jules Verne, Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur.
Each of the zones explores energy through its own creative lens – from a huge globe with projections of storms and animations describing various energy types, to mock-ups of comfortable and energy efficient homes, to depictions of how science is helping make industry cleaner and greener.
Results
The enormous efforts put into making the France Pavilion a reality paid off handsomely, as the pavilion received recognitions at two prestigious awards:
- Bronze Award for Theme Development of Type A pavilions (more than 700 sq. m.) at the Expo 2017 Astana Official Participant Awards from the Bureau International des Expositions
- Editor’s Choice honour at the Expo 2017 Award from the EXHIBITOR Magazine