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Swiss Architectural Summer Expo.02 is a work of art and planning that orchestrates exhibitions, music, food, and theatre, within a spectacular landscape. The travel from one arteplage to another is a scenic experience as well, whether by boat, train, or bicycle. Art and Architecture on the Beach The largest of the arteplages is in the city of Biel and focuses on the theme, "Power and Freedom." The three sculptural "Sound Towers" appear over the long roof of the exhibition pier. The scenography looks like architecture. This is not surprising because the sculptures are made by architects — the Viennese studio Coop Himmelb(l)au (literally Co-op Skyblue/ Skystructure). Some of Expo.02's most compelling experiences are designed by multidisciplinary teams including architects. Two examples are "Strangers in Paradise," an 11-minute ride in an oversized shopping cart by Ingrid Burgdorf and Barbara Burren, and the "wish pavilion" called sWISH* by GJK. The artificial platform in Lake Neuchâtel is surrounded by reeds of phosphorescent yellow, illustrating the theme of "Nature and Artificiality" under the 50-foot- (15-meter-) high saucer roofs, or "levitating pebbles" as the designers, Groupe Multipack, refer to them. Many consider Monolith, a rusty cube in the water of Lake Murten, to be the most successful piece of the Expo. Pragmatically simple, the platonic shape by Jean Nouvel enters a dialogue with the landscape and the fortified city that is hard to grasp, yet impossible to ignore. Nouvel countered the official theme for this arteplage, "Instant and Eternity," with the concept of camouflage both for the monolith housing the reconstruction of the panoramic painting of the Battle of Murten and for the "stères de bois" (stack of logs), where works of contemporary art from the Cartier Foundation are projected. Between the lakeshore and the aristocratic city of Neuchâtel are further exhibits. The Palais de l'Equilibre is remarkable for evoking Buckminster Fuller, not only because of the domed shape of the wood-slatted exterior but also because the exhibition is similar to Fuller's World Game. Inside, statistics reveal shocking numbers related to world food distribution, unemployment, and HIV infection. This dome is one of the few Expo.02 structures for which a new site and a new use has already been found. Many efforts have been made to render the event environmentally sustainable, such as in the relocation of the buildings, which are required by contract to be removed from their expo sites. Several restaurants, exhibits, and the hotel Palafitte are powered by solar energy, biogas, and geothermal energy. The four catamarans taking visitors of the Lake Murten Monolith are also powered by the sun. Architecture in a Fog Another architectural highlight is sited in Yverdon. Here, with the topic, "Me and the Universe," the arteplage combines a curving roof with landscaping elements, and yet another homage to Buckminster Fuller. Emerging from and, after technical problems, now fed by the water of the lake, the tensegrity structure of the "Cloud" was designed by Group Extasia (Diller-Scofidio from New York, together with architects from Zürich and Rotterdam). The piece is fascinating because of its varying appearance. While it imitates the natural phenomenon of a cloud, or of fog, it is subject to the forces of the winds. At times a metal skeleton, at times a sun terrace, it sometimes disappears inside its ephemeral skin of water spray from 31,400 jet nozzles. Inside the fog machine, a water bar serves thousands of brands of spring water. Abandoned by its original sponsor, the former mobile-phone provider Diax, the Cloud remains a powerful yet strangely stranded object on the shore of Yverdon-les-Bains. In June, the New York Times published an article describing how "this summer, 60,000 Americans... will be strolling around four lakeside towns near the French border and gawking at the kind of architecture that is more brave-new-world than yodel-ready chalets." Yet, how brave is the new world of Expo.02? Some claim that it is an introvert event, where the Swiss reflect upon themselves. Executive director Nelly Wenger sees Expo.02 as an image not of the "official nation," but rather as an experiment and a fantasy where many will find hints about their role in a global context. After it had been open for two months, artistic director Martin Heller expressed surprise at the lack of public criticism. Documenting the Experience The official book of Expo.02, called ImagiNation, portrays the many exhibitions, places, and people involved. The publication itself has stirred controversy: the book was published in French and German only, infuriating the Italian-speaking population of Switzerland. A smaller book was published in collaboration with the architecture magazine Hochparterre and Biel pavilion Territoire Imaginaire. Der Traum vom Raum/ Le Rêve de l'Espace combines the imaginary with techniques of reportage. A third book, Expomat, resulted from the private initiative of artist Roman Keller and architect Barbara Wiskemann. This volume documents 1341 of the ideas following an open call for proposals from artists and scientists during the initial enthusiasm surrounding the planning. After the political turbulence that caused the collapse of Expo.01, only five out of 3000 proposals were realized in the resurrected Expo.02. In its 159-day run, the exhibition expects to host 5 million people. In its ambition to simultaneously innovate and integrate, to satisfy rather than to provoke, the four arteplages have created a poetry that synthesizes many requirements into spectacular shells with vague contents. It is a familiar Swiss dilemma — does Expo.02 assure us that nothing will change? Sabine von Fischer is a freelance writer, architect, and principal of Normal Group for Architecture in New York.
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