Belgium
The Belgian Pavilion is shaped like a flower with a central part of glass, the petals of wood; the entrance corridor represents the stem.
Belgium takes part in “Towards a Sustainable Expo” for all the categories of the contest.
The main spaces of the Pavilion are divided into two parts: one part represents the tradition, shaped like of a typical farm of the Belgian countryside, and the second one that stands for the innovation.
In this second part, walking through the ‘ramp of the future’ the visitors discover innovative solutions such as: aquaponics (a kind of cultivation of fish and plants together to convert fish excretions to plant nutrients), insects farming, hydroponics (a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil) and a fungi production exploiting coffee grounds.
The shape of the Pavilion is the scale reduction of a urban planning, called ‘Lobe City’, which proposes a division of the urban space into different sites connected to a common center, which recalls the concept of the square or of the market where people share the public life.
Here are the sustainable solutions for the category of sustainable architecture:
– use of sustainable materials (mainly glass and certified wood);
– use of renewable energy: on the large part of the coverture there are photovoltaic panels both traditional and innovative (i.e. integrated in the glass). Photovoltaics provides energy to meet the energy needs of 5/6 apartments (for the part of the farm) and 6 apartments (for the central part of glass). At the entrance there is also a windmill blade (demonstrative), innovative and ideal for agricultural enterprises;
– the need for heating and cooling is satisfied by a heat pump fed by the water of the canal;
– reduction of the use of concrete for the foundation;
– presence of a tank for water recovery with a phytodepuration system;
– use of LED lamps and motion light sensors;
– green roof.
The Pavilion will be dismantled and it will be brought back to Belgium with an intended use to be defin
