EXPO OSAKA '70: the project designed by Maurizio Sacripanti for the Italian Pavilion at Osaka ‘70

A structure in movement in which time becomes a fourth dimension, a sequence of unpredictable volumes, oscillating metal panels that create ever-new spaces: this was the pavilion conceived by #mauriziosacripanti for Expo 1970 in Osaka. An innovative project contemplated by #maxxi 35 years later on the occasion of Expo Milano 2015 by presenting #mauriziosacripanti. EXPO OSAKA ’70 curated by Carlo Serafini and Esmeralda Valente.
From May 29 to October 25, 2015 at the Centro Archivi #maxxi #architettura, the exhibition presents the project designed by Sacripanti with A. Nonis, M. Dè
cina, G. Perucchini, A. Latini, A. Perilli, R. Pedio and G. Leoncilli for the Italian Pavilion at Osaka ‘70 as part of the competition which was eventually won by
Tommaso and Gilberto Valle.
This project, without wandering too far from architectural concreteness, encompasses originality, invention and above all a conception of architecture as the expression of alternatives, as a dynamic product. The exhibition function of the pavilion was seen by the group of architects as the inside of a container with specific technical and constructive features. However, what made the project unique was the architectural space itself, capable of changing in time and space, and of offering a sensory experience that was at the same time unpredictable and concrete.
Sacripanti’s project includes two suspended exhibition levels and a double series of seven circular “blades” that decrease in size, supported vertically by metal towers. These oscillating “blades,” activated by a pneumatic system, move independently of each other, generating internal/external spaces that are always changing, also owing to the flexion and tension of the outer cladding made of plastic.
The main objective of the structure was to guarante e its endless “combinations,” i.e. to realize spatial but repetitive changes. A particularly important role was entrusted to the light that crosses the transparent
membranes of the outer cladding, with ever-changing trajectories owing to the different degrees of inclination; luminous refractions that contribute to the further dilation/contraction of the pavilion’s exhibition space.
The exhibition #mauriziosacripanti. EXPO OSAKA ’70 intends to break the silence that has lingered around the architect’s work for too long now, payin
g tribute to a living architecture, inspired by cellular organisms, conceived as a journey through a pulsating body of an experimental, dynamic and spectacular
nature.

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