UK Pavilion - Design & Construction

December 14, 2009

Integrating Nature into Cities

The UK, with its millions of gardens, thousands of public parks and garden squares, has pioneered the integration of nature into cities as a way of making them healthier places in which to live and work.

The UK pavilion encourages visitors to look at the role of nature and wonder whether it could be used to solve the current social, economic and environmental challenges of our cities.

Britain’s central contribution to bettering city life has been the creation of garden squares, public parks (a British invention), individual gardens, window boxes and allotments. There is, in the British mind, a profound value in maintaining a direct connection with nature. Urban and suburban gardens are among the richest and most diverse habitats in the UK. The garden, carefully tended for the delight of fellow citizens, is a wonderful British contribution to the pleasure and civility of urban life.

The UK pavilion draws on this admirable and distinctive tradition and offers a journey that celebrates ‘green-ness’, reflects on the profound importance of maintaining a connection with the natural world, and finishes by suggesting ways in which the future evolution of cities can draw on a deeper understanding of the natural world’s ability to bring about solutions for increased health and well-being.

Topics : UK Pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai, United Kingdom Pavilion at the 7th World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China. Source: ukshanghaiexpo.com