Dutch firm UNStudio has created a cluster of pavilions modelled on the form of a Chinese flower, as the centrepiece for this summer's horticultural expo in Qingdao, China (+ slideshow).

Covering an area of 28,000 square metres, the Theme Pavilion was designed by UNStudio as the main exhibition centre for the Qingdao International Horticultural Exposition 2014, which opened in Baiguo Mountain Park last month.

The complex is made up of four buildings – an exhibition hall, a performance space, a media centre and a conference suite. Each features a curving body designed to imitate the forms the surrounding mountains, while their combined layout is modelled on the petals of the Chinese Rose – Qingdao's city flower.

"The architecture for the Theme Pavilion overflows and interacts with the surrounding landscape," explained studio principal Ben van Berkel.

"The forms of the pavilion buildings respond to the nearby mountains, with their carefully composed rooftops acting as plateaus, each addressing a different portion of the masterplan by different inclination and terracing, and providing panoramic views which extend far into the surrounding landscape," he said.

A network of indoor and outdoor pathways weave in and around the buildings, framing a public square at the centre.

"The flowering out concept is integrated into the design of the Theme Pavilion as gesture of communication," added Van Berkel. "Similarly to how it occurs in nature, the action of flowering out in architecture attracts and invites through the senses. It alludes to the notion that that a building can open itself up and encourage public interaction."

Aluminium panels clad the outer walls of each structure, and vertical seams offer flashes of colour that graduate from blue and green to yellow and orange. Only visible from certain angles, these help visitors to orientate themselves around the site.

The horticultural expo continues until 25 October, occupying an overall site of 500 hectares. Once the exhibition is over, the park will become a leisure attraction and the Theme Pavilion will be transformed into a hotel and conference centre.

Photography is by Edmon Leong.

Here's more information from UNStudio:

Ben van Berkel / UNStudio's Qingdao World Horticultural Expo Theme Pavilion completed

Following selection in the 2011 competition UNStudio's World Horticultural Expo Theme Pavilion in Qingdao has been realised.

The World Horticultural Expo 2014 takes place the Chinese city of Qingdao (from April to October 2014) and is expected to attract 15 million international visitors. The main theme of the expo is 'From the Earth, For the Earth' and aims to encourage the exchange of culture, technology and horticultural knowledge.

In its design for the Theme Pavilion UNStudio combines expert knowledge of logistics, spatial organisation, specialised typology, future flexible usability, function programming, facade intelligence, user comfort and sustainability.

The 28,000 square metre Theme Pavilion comprises the main Expo hall, a grand performance hall, a conference centre and a media centre. The architectural design gesture for the pavilion is borrowed from the shape of the Chinese rose - the city flower of Qingdao – and converted into the floor plan layout of the design.

The four pavilion volumes or 'petals' are connected by internal and external walkways and frame a central square which becomes a 'stage' for the visitors: a dynamic focal point surrounded by viewpoints on varying levels.

The Theme Pavilion operates as the platform for monthly programmed and seasonally themed activities, featuring flowers in spring, shading in summer, fruits in autumn and greens in winter.

"Rainbow Ribbons" provide the routing and infrastructure for the expo and permeate the surrounding landscape. This colour concept is further reflected in the facade elements which are constructed from vertically folded aluminium panels. The four theme colours (green, yellow, orange and blue) are applied along the lengths of the vertical folds, appearing and disappearing depending on the viewpoint.

The World Horticultural Expo will cover nearly 5 million square metres, encourage the participation of more than 100 countries and is expected to attract more than 6,000 visitors daily. In addition the Expo will function as a catalyst for other undertakings and initiatives in the city of Qingdao to improve the city quality as a whole.

Following the World Horticultural Expo 2014, the landscape art themed expo park will become a new venue for eco-tourism, which will shift the focus of Qingdao's tourism from sightseeing to leisure.

Together with the organisers, UNStudio has incorporated a possible future lifecycle into the design of the Theme Pavilion by allowing a transformation of the buildings into a hotel building, accommodating conference and teaching facilities. As part of the design process, the future use of the Theme Pavilion is therefore incorporated into the DNA of the design.

Client: Office of 2014 Qingdao World Horticultural Expo Executive Committee
Location: Qingdao, China

Building surface: 35.000 sqm
Building volume: 168.000 m3
Building site: 35.000 sqm
Programme: Main Expo Pavilion including Expo Hall, Grand Theater, Conference Center and Media Hub
Status: Realised

UNStudio: Ben van Berkel, Hannes Pfau, Gerard Loozekoot with Markus van Aalderen, Joerg Petri, Milena Stopic, Yu-Chen Liu and Cong Ye, Irina Bogdan, Xing Xiong, Maud van Hees, ShuoJiong Zhang, Philipp Mecke, Maya Alam, Junjie Yan, Gilles Greis, Subhajit Das, Erwin Horstmanshof, Faiz Zohri, Andrew Brown, Patrik Noomé, Amanda Chan, Nanang Santoso

Competition stage:
Landscape Architect: !melk landscape architecture PC, New York
Theater Advisor: Theateradvies bv, Amsterdam
Structure: Arup, Amsterdam
MEP: Arup, Hong Kong

Construction stage:
Structure engineering: Qingdao Architectural Design Institute (QUADI)
MEP engineering: Qingdao Architectural Design Institute (QUADI)
Façade engineering: Senyang Yuanda Aluminium Industry Engineering CO.,LTD-Special Project Group.
Lighting designers: Tsinghua Tongfang
Local Architect: Qingdao Architectural Design Institute Corporation