The Millennium is actually just another turn of the year – and yet it is much more. It is a chronological milestone of two thousand years of time as measured according to the Gregorian calendar: The awareness of change, and a questioning gaze into the new millennium that is caught up in ambivalence and an archaic anxiety about what is to come. The World Exposition is an ‘ex-play-natory’ place. At the end of the millennium, as seen through a magnifying glass, we encounter here the inseparable trinity of nature, man, and technology, from which the vast, nearly immeasurable, issues of the future arise.
It is our decision to respond with the simple but manifold metaphor of the river. The river is the symbol of transition and the source of life. It is an outstanding place of evolution, attracting civilisations and, within its continuous flux, it is a medium for development. The definition of rigid orders, conveying stability and continuity, have to move and thereby slowly transform into an awareness of constant change and revolution, thus characterizing a sovereign, but not overbearing, freedom.
Rivers supply the water for gardens and they are cultural expressions; they are a kind of calling card. With their ample and yet differentiated areas, a World Exhibition’s gardens ideally offer space for curiosity and an experience – of oneself as well as of the other. The positive utopia of such gardens is that of a blossoming, developable, and still usable piece of land. The sustainable use of resources and efficient use of material and technology is proof of a sense of responsibility as well as of the sense of elegance the design process has.
«panta rhei» … continuous flux
… The river is a symbol for change and the source of life. The river is a particular place of evolution, attracting civilisations, and with its continuous flux a medium of development. In the image of a river one finds archaic legends of Mesopotamia, the country of two rivers (construction of the tower of Babel) as well as the place for computer animation (virtual reality) or the phenomenon of unlimited communication (internet). … Sustainable use of resources, efficient use of material and technology reconciles to form the responsibility, as well as the elegance of the design process …
Expo Park South
Garden of Transition
Park of Agriculture
Project Data
Landscape architecture: Kamel Louafi
Year completed: 2000
Photo credits: Office Kamel Louafi
Location: Hanover / Germany
Client: EXPO 2000 GmbH and Hanover Municipality, Landeshauptstadt Hannover
Competition: Kamel Louafi, with Martine Sgard, Dörte Eggert-Heerdegen, Michael Faber, Christiane Peschek, Marc Pouzol, Robert Slinger (Service Mile)
Design, Implementation Planning: Kamel Louafi with Sabrina Schröder, Patrick Bairstow, Dörte Eggert-Heerdegen, Marc Pouzol, Theresa Gnoyke, Günter Maser, Frank Scharping, Michael Klittich, Frank Vollbehr (1997 / 98), David Walker (1996), Ute Richter (1997), Margret Becker (1997), Inga Hahn (1997), Jos Willemsen (1997), Caroline Glit-Jensen (1997)
Construction Supervision: Kamel Louafi with Martin Duthweiler, Frank Gödeke, Sabrina Schröder, Theresa Gnoyke, Dörte Eggert-Heerdegen, Günter Maser, Frank Scharping, Frank Vollbehr
Planning Partners:
Civil Engineer Peter Jockwer Berlin und Meihorst und Partner
Water Technology Joachim Kudlek
Lighting Design Dinnebier / Dirk Mailänder,
Arcadia Garriock Architects
Adjacent Expo Projects Multiservice Complexes East and West, Robert-Schumann-Platz, AGRI-EXPO Expo Office
Arcadia inside exposition halls with Garriock associates
Design, Implementation Planning, Construction Supervision Kamel Louafi, Maren Brakebusch, Martin Winberger, Frank Gödeke, Klaus Overmeyer, Thomas Frank, Garriock associates
Building contractors Aquaform, GalaBau Janisch, Baltin Stauden, BambusCentrum Eberts, Baumschule Lorenz von Ehren, Baumschule Bruns, Baumschule Lappen, Dieringer, Eckstein & Feye, Fechtdesign Altmann, GalaBau Aumann, Hanke Betonbau, Hastrabau-Wegner, Tioflex, Lembouw Nederland, Leymann, Merten, GalaBau Paul Keller, Les pépinières de la Bambouserai, Preussag / Noel, Schramm, KMB, Xaver Bayer, Bau-Fa-Tec, Selge Saur, Thiermann, Vegetationstechnik Beverstedt
