an artist's rendition of Poland Pavilion

an artist's rendition of Poland Pavilion

scene of the groundbreaking ceremon

Poland will turn its Shanghai Expo pavilion into a gala concert hall during the 2010 event to invite visitors to dance and sing in memory of the great Polish musician Frederic Chopin, the Polish Expo team said yesterday as construction began on the pavilion.

"Puppet Night," "Rock Night" and "Chopin Night" concerts will be held inside the pavilion every day after 8pm.

Polish karaoke and Polish DJs and bands will come to the pavilion to invite visitors to sing.

Chopin's music will be performed in rock or pop styles to let visitors dance in the pavilion, said Slawomir Majman, commissioner general of the country's Expo exhibit.

Marek Ziolkowski, deputy Marshall of the Upper Chamber of the Polish Parliament

Slawomir Majman, commissioner-general of the Poland Pavilion section of the Shanghai World Expo

Hong Hao, director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination

Pianists from both China and Poland will play Chopin's music to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birthday.

A Chopin concert is scheduled during the Expo at Shanghai Grand Theater on May 22, Poland Pavilion's national day.

"Music speaks to all people," said Marek Ziolkowski, deputy Marshall of the Upper Chamber of the Polish Parliament. He said music will be the main topic of the pavilion.

Dragon dances of both Chinese and Polish style will be performed at the pavilion's entrance. Four Chinese dragons in red and another four Polish dragons in yellow will meet each other every morning.

The 3,000-square-meter pavilion, mainly made of wood, gives the impression of a huge paper cutout building, tilted slightly upward from the ground.

The exterior walls or sides of the oblong quadrilateral structure are patterned like a traditional paper cut-out and are illuminated from within.

Poland is known for its traditional paper-cutting. Polish craftsmen can cut out an intricate pattern continuously, without clipping any piece of paper midway.

"The pavilion design evokes ancient artistry, abstract design and futuristic thinking," said Slawomir Majman, commissioner-general of the Poland Pavilion section of the Shanghai World Expo.

The design, one of 20 proposals, embodies the pavilion theme "People Create Cities," demonstrating the World Expo theme "Better City, Better Life."

The white building will appear to be made from a giant sheet of folded paper, an intricate, folkloric tracing of designs.

Some eco-friendly and healthy, traditional Polish dishes will be served. During the period, the exhibition space will be filled with light filtering in through the cut-out exterior wall patterns.

At night, the pavilion will shine inside out with color. Cut-out figures will seem to be dancing on the wall.

The inner solid walls of the pavilion will function as screens, on which scenes of Polish city life will be projected.

The exhibit will include innovative urban designs that bring people into closer contact with nature and let them interact more easily with others. Visitors will enter an exhibition on the "future of cities." There, the wooden ground-level floor gradually will rise, opening to an auditorium for performances taking place below.

an artist's rendition of Poland Pavilion

Green materials

The pavilion will be environmentally friendly, and there will be lots of green living things in the Expo environment. The basic construction material is wood, including the facade with the cut-out patterns that will be cut by laser. Most construction materials are recyclable, and since the pavilion must be removed from the Expo site after the six-month exhibition period, part of the wooden structure will be reconstructed in a Polish city.

The pavilion explores the importance of the "personal" experience between buildings and people.

the uniforms for staffs in Poland Pavilion

In addition to Poland's urban achievements in making cities more livable, the pavilion will feature the life and music of Poland's Frederic Chopin (1810-49), best known for his piano concerts, sonatas and music based on Polish folk traditions.

Next year will be the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of this one of the world's greatest and most creative composers. The building will contain a concert hall, auditorium and performance space inside.

"Chopin is more than a composer, he represents the nature of the nation," said Majman. "But we will have a very modern interpretation of his masterpieces."

an artist's rendition of Poland Pavilion

an artist's rendition of Poland Pavilion

Editor: Yang Jian