When I was much younger and first learning about the history of world's fairs, two really stood out among the rest for me.Naturally, the 1939-'40 New York World's Fair had lots to interest a high school student interested in architecture and design. I'd still say, today, that if I could go back in time and visit any world's fair, it would be this one.
However, Expo 70 in Osaka is a really close second place. Later, in architecture school, I'd learn about the Japanese Metabolist movement in architecture and Kenzo Tange, the grandfather of modern architecture in Japan and the designer of the Expo 70 site.
Currently, the site is a park with some of the artifacts of the expo, particularly the enigmatic, iconic Tower of the Sun as well as the amusement zone, Expoland.
2 comments:
Expoland rules!
I was fortunate enough to attend Expo 70 as an 18 year old straight out of high school. Even though nearly 37 years have passed, I still have very vivid memories of the fair. Most vivid are the masses of people. Lines for the popular pavilions were over 5 hours and there were times it seemed every square inch of pavement was covered with humanity. I was able to enter the US Pavilion through the employees entrance due to the kind heart of a clerical staffer. The wife of an Israeli businessman I chatted with over lunch mentioned she had a pass to the USSR pavilion and took me along as she entered via a VIP line. Expo 70 was the last of the "cold war" world's fairs where the rivalry between the US and USSR at Brussels, Montreal and Osaka produced some of the most notable architecture of the last century.
Post a Comment