expo.02

Expo.02 Switzerland takes place in five cantons on three lakes from May 15 to October 20, 2002. These 159 days of the sixth Swiss National Exhibition aim to awaken your emotions and stimulate your imagination. More than thirty exhibitions and countless cultural events do not just place visitors in the role of mere observers but also allow for a different experience of Switzerland. Expo.02 is primarily a grand celebration for everyone.

---

Biel-Bienne

Theme: Power and Freedom
Total area: 120,000 m²
Exhibitions: 11
Concept Forum: Coop Himmelb(l)au, Vienna
Project Architect: Paul Kath
Project Designer: Marc Paulin
Team: G. Ludwig Rieder, Wolfgang Leitgeb, Sigrid Steinwender
Usable area Forum: 14,220 m²
Tower heights: 33, 39, and 42 meters
Light installation: Yann Kersalé, Vincennes, France
We feel or spread power every day - at work as well as at home. Often, we feel helpless. Especially where our dreams collide with the limits of possibility. On the other hand, nothing has influenced the history of mankind more than the desire for freedom.

---

Neuchâtel

Theme: Natural and Artificial
Total area: 116,000 m²
Exhibitions: 9
Concept Galets: Multipack, Neuchâtel
Partners: GMS Architekten SA, Neuchâtel; Atelier Jacques Sbirglio, Marseille
Platform area: 27,000 m²
Galets area: 3,500 m²; 4,000 m²; 9,000 m²
What is still natural and what is already artificial? Recognizing this difference will become increasingly difficult. We surround ourselves more and more with technology where nature should reign. We indulge in the advantages of greater convenience, and our life becomes increasingly artificial. Nevertheless, we often look back for real experiences.

---

Murten-Morat

Theme: Moment and Eternity
Total area: 135,000 m²
Exhibitions: 8
Monolith Concept: Jean Nouvel, Paris
Partner: Gauer-Itten-Messerli-Maria (GIMM), Bern
Length of each edge of the Monolith: 34 m
Everything around us is changing - increasingly dramatically. Thanks to the internet, we surf the globe in seconds. Those who do not want to miss this progress must connect. Not only each of us must integrate, but also Switzerland as a nation. New demands are constantly placed upon us.

---

Yverdon-les-Bains

Theme: Me and the Universe
Total area: 114,000 m²
Exhibitions: 9
Cloud Concept: Diller+Scofidio, New York
Project Leader: Dirk Hebel, New York
Structural Engineers: Passera & Perdretti
Fog Engineers: Biogenesis, Dutrie, MEE Industries
Fog Consultants: Fuiko Nakaya, Thomas Mee
Supporting structure of the Cloud: 60 x 100 x 20 m
Partner: West 8, Rotterdam; Morphing Systems, Zurich
The structure of steel pipes, stressed solely for compression and steel cables cost 15 million CHF. 34,000 nozzles (each with a diameter of 120 microns) were used, consuming 240 m³ per hour. The water pressure in the nozzles reaches 80 Bars.
"When I caught her gaze, my knees buckled. My body was flooded with warmth, but inside I trembled with cold. I could think of only one thing: When can I meet her again?" The moment described could be the beginning of a love story. The fact that you were told this particular story has a lot to do with the theme in Yverdon-les-Bains.

---

Floating Exhibition Jura

Architectural Composition: Didier Faustino, Paris
The floating exhibition Mobile du Jura is somewhat of an exotic among the others. Like a ship, it sails the lakes and links permanent exhibition spaces in the ports.