“(…) We need to seek depth and substance even in the instability of consumerism.”
Michele Molè
An architect of international renown, Michele Molè founded the Nemesi architectural and urban design firm in 1997. The selfsame Nemesi&Partners which, out of sixty-eight participants, presented the winning project for the Expo 2015 Italian Pavilion, conceived in collaboration with Proger and BMS Progetti for the engineering aspects connected with the structure and its technical systems, and with the support of Prof. Livio De Santoli for building sustainability. Already admired by millions of people, today the Italian Pavilion is one of the highlights and most visited attractions of the Universal Exposition. The Italian Pavilion comprises Palazzo Italia, about thirteen thousand square metres and the temporary buildings of the Cardo which occupy approximately eleven thousand square metres.
Palazzo Italia recalls an urban forest steeped in light and shade which, within its four blocks, hosts the Exhibition Zone, The Auditorium Zone, the Office Zone, and the Conference and Meeting Zone. The Cardo buildings, on the other hand, are located along the eponymous axis to create a typical Italian hamlet interspersed with tiny squares, terraces and portico-covered pavements. Built on the principle of a ‘dry’ structure, they may be disassembled when the event is over and reutilized elsewhere. As one would expect, the Italian regions are represented in this area and, right in front of Palazzo Italia at the northern end of the Cardo, the headquarters of the institutional exposition spaces has been located, together with the European Union Pavilion, to underline the close bond between Italy and Europe. The Italian Pavilion has been conceived as a permanent building and will live on after Expo 2015, having been assigned the task of leading the city of Milan into the future.
