Concept: Welfairytales

The Danish Pavilion will present new images, new ideas and new knowl-
edge related to how Denmark can create sustainable cities with a high
quality of life. The tales of the common challenges, common opportunities
and common approaches integrated in the Danish Pavilion should invite
and inspire both Chinese and global visitors to new and lasting partner-
ships with Denmark and Danish companies.

The exhibition

The pavilion exhibition is an unfolded living fairytale book.

The fairytale
book combines images, film, words and sound, inviting visitors to try out
the Welfairytales themselves. Welfairytales presents new stories from
Hans Christian Andersen’s native country. It is a fairytale about modern
Denmark today and tomorrow in three chapters:

“Tales of how we live” is about how Danes live and structure their daily
lives in the cities. It tells a tale of how cities can be created that focus on
a high quality of life and sustainability. This chapter is produced by direc-
tor Martin de Thurah,

“Tales of what we love” is about the Danes and includes personal stories
of what makes life worth living. Its personal fairytales explain what should
be in focus to create the cities of the future in order to give people better
opportunities to develop and be happy. This chapter is produced by pho-
tographer Peter Funch.

“Tales of where we’re going” is about our vision for a joint Danish/Chinese
future, about how Danish-Chinese cooperation in the fields of technology
and knowledge can improve life in the cities of the future.

The architecture

The Danish Pavilion is more than a traditional exhibition pavilion. It is an
opportunity to try out Danish city life and see the original, famous Danish
sculpture, the Little Mermaid. It is also possible to jump on a city bike to
meet the Danes, their lives and their dreams. And you can enjoy a picnic
and dip your toes in the water of the Harbour Pool.

The building itself is a monolithic steel structure designed as a double spi-
ral with pedestrian and cycling lanes that take the visitor from the ground
through two curves up to a level of 12 metres and down again.

In this way the Danish exhibition can be experienced at two speeds, both
inside and outside – either as a calm stroll with time to absorb the sur-
roundings, or a bicycle trip where the city and city life drift past.

There will be more than hundred city bikes for visitors to try. Inside, the
floor features a light blue cycle path where the bikes pass through the
building.

The Danish Pavilion is situated in Zone C as part of the “Nordic town”,
with Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden as neighbours.

The facade
The facade
The facade
The facade

Structurally, the pavilion is conceived as one giant self-supporting tubular
steel truss, similar to the hull of a steel ship. The external facade structure
is the building’s most efficient element. The perforation holes are there to
let in daylight and for the purpose of natural ventilation. Due to the struc-
tural performance of the truss, the degree of perforation varies with the
structural stress along the facade. Every single hole in the facade is
equipped with a LED light source enabling both the regulation of light in-
side the pavilion and the illumination of the outside surface in the darker
hours of the day.

As a result, the facade of the pavilion becomes an abstract pattern of
light and darkness reflecting the flow of people and bicycles inside the
pavilion, as well as the flow of forces inside the steel wall.

The Harbour Pool

The Danish Pavilion is wrapped around the Harbour Pool. It allows the
visitor to experience what it is like to paddle round the Danish harbour.
The Harbour Pool emits light into the meeting and business event area of
the lower floor through a large window. In this way the meeting and busi-
ness facility, designed for our VIP guests, becomes an extension of the
Harbour Pool.

The sea as a recreational resource means a lot to the Danes. After years
of concentrated efforts to reduce pollution, it is now possible to swim in-
side the harbour areas of many cities.

The Little Mermaid in Shanghai

At the centre of the Harbour Pool is the Little Mermaid, who has been sit-
ting on Langelinie in Copenhagen since 1913. On 12 March 2009, the City
of Copenhagen gave their final approval to let the famous Danish land-
mark travel abroad for the first time; she will be exhibited at the Danish
EXPO 2010 Pavilion in Shanghai.

The idea to move the Little Mermaid from Copenhagen to Shanghai is a
gesture of cultural generosity and also an invitation to cultural dialogue
between Denmark and China.

Bench and fountain

Danish artist Jeppe Hein has designed a social bench going through the
inside and outside space of the Danish pavilion. Besides being an artistic
and social approach, the white steel bench also functions as a barrier be-
tween the pedestrians and the cyclists. In addition, Jeppe Hein will create
an interactive fountain where water walls rise and fall in interaction with
the movement of passers-by.

Design Shop

The Danish Pavilion will host a design shop that offers Danish design and
lifestyle products. The products have been chosen because they are
products of tomorrow, not yesterday, and meet some of the following cri-
teria:

• Products where Danish and Chinese knowledge and creativity are
  included on an equal footing.

• Products integrating sustainability and CSR with lifestyle ap-
  proach.

• Products based on Danish-Chinese collaboration.

A taste of Denmark

The Danish Pavilion offers visitors an exclusive culinary journey through
Denmark. A journey that originates in the traditional Danish kitchen, ar-
ranged with a modern touch and using the freshest and finest ingredients
commonly enjoyed in Denmark. There will be a welcome bar and a roof
top café where the food will be served in picnic basket. The food reflects
the theme “Welfairytales”, and tasting becomes an integral part of the
overall visit to the Danish Pavilion.