In an Expo where pavilions use iconic forms to represent their countries—Israel’s shell, Romania’s apple, Switzerland’s ski lift—it makes some sense that the United States Pavilion takes the form of a shopping mall.
Most pavilions present their country’s cultural history and progressive urban ideas in an effort to convey a clear sense of national values and identity.
Inspired by the large cavities cut into bedrock by receding glaciers during the last Ice Age, Teemu Kurkela and his colleagues at JKMM Architects carved a tall open space at the center of their Finland Pavilion and gave the building an almost geological character.
