EXPO 2008

The 2008 Zaragoza International Exhibition was a great international event held on the banks of the River Ebro in which 104 countries, three international organisations, and all of Spain’s autonomous communities and cities took part. The Expo Zaragoza featured an astonishing Bridge Pavilion by Pritzker prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid, and buildings by Spanish architects such as Nieto y Sobejano or Francisco Mangado. Zaragoza’s commitment goes beyond the exhibition and tries to show how the city and its inhabitants aim to make it a model of sustainable use of the resources employed in the event. For this reason the site is being transformed in a cultural and scientific park which coexists with the sporting facility and the natural area close by. This space will accommodate both cultural and popular leisure activities.

During 2006 and 2007, Lordcultura, the Spanish company of Lord Cultural Resources, had the pleasure to work with Expo Zaragoza Consortium, the corporation responsible of EXPO, in order to identify potential cultural uses for after EXPO 2008, to develop scenarios regarding financial feasibility and to assist the client in attracting exciting international partners. The objective of Expo Zaragoza Consortium was to be “the International Capital of Water” in the long term and therefore our work was closely linked to thematic development for the EXPO itself. In addition the post-EXPO uses influenced decisions made pre-EXPO in order to ensure the adaptability of the site and buildings when EXPO was over. Lordcultura was commissioned to work on the post-expo uses of three of its iconic buildings: The Bridge Pavilion, The Water Tower and the Spanish Pavilion.In 2008 we also worked on the concept definition for the Bridge Pavilion after the Expo, commissioned by a financial institution that will manage that building in the future.