TRIESTE EXPO 2008

DESCRIZIONE: Trieste is a candidate to be the site of the first “recognized” (specialized) Expo for the year 2008. There are two other contenders: Thessaloniki...

Trieste is a candidate to be the site of the first “recognized” (specialized) Expo for the year 2008. There are two other contenders: Thessaloniki and Zaragoza. Mobility of knowledge is the theme chosen by a group of scientists and artists to represent Expo 2008 at Trieste. Trieste’s potential is beyond doubt, and the theme, that of mobility, seems very apt given the current situation in Italy and in Trieste, and for the connections which the city itself has with many other countries and which these (the mobility of knowledge, precisely) in their turn have with the reality of scientific institutions in Trieste. It is estimated that a total of 90 participants will come to Trieste for EXPO 2008 Trieste ITALY, divided into 60 exhibitors, the Italian government, 3 public bodies, one area for Trieste and 25 International Organizations. The participants will have an area of 500 sq meters at their disposal, which will be made from the old warehouses in the Porto Vecchio. The area will have all the equipment the participants need to set up their stands. The Italian government, the public bodies, Piazza Trieste and 25 international organizations will have their own, dedicated spaces. Themed pavilions will also be set up. The Master Plan project deals with the functional organization of Expo, and is looking for suitable sites in keeping with the original lay-out of the Porto Vecchio, logically following the urban system of the whole historic city of Trieste. The project is searching for sustainability in its broadest sense, to respect the values and the existing structures already in the Port, without altering the urban equilibrium. The entire Expo project has been planned with the idea of re-using a rundown area of the city center: Expo will be the main engine for this renovation. Furthermore, it was conceived as the place to elucidate the theme and its meanings, by the inventiveness of the access points and of the route (a single, continuous route, designed with extreme clarity and rigor, unequivocal in guiding the visitor through the spaces and stands, both inside and outside), of the plant and above all in the construction of the themed pavilions. The project is designed inside a main compound of 25 hectares where, in addition to the previous old buildings which can house the 60 pavilions for the visiting countries, there will be new buildings which will be both permanent and temporary, built to house space for services, recreation activities, an open air theater, open exposition areas, pavilions for sponsors and in the main area facing the sea, a Congress Center with a building defined as the “Interculture Building”. It will be a multi-room Congress Center, built in order to satisfy the needs of the Expo and, more generally, of the whole city; a tangible sign and in the future, a memory of the Expo experience. An underground car park, built on three levels at the center of the area, will have a capacity of 3,000 parking places. The outer breakwater facing the Expo area will be put to use as a services area and will have bathing areas on two different levels facing the sea, a promenade with accommodation facilities on a higher level and a platform equipped with stalls and storage facilities for the water sports practiced in the area.