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 The
2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition is nigh,
set to enter your life in November. The sprawling expo
site will span four areas-Fine Arts Park, Yuanshan Park,
Dajia Riverside Park, and Xinsheng Park. There will
be 14 halls and pavilions, among which six are brand-new
facilities built specifically for the expo. These are
the Expo Hall, Pavilion of Aroma of Flowers, Pavilion
of New Fashion, Pavilion of Future, Pavilion of Life,
and Pavilion of Dreams. These are to be showcases for
the city's culture, arts, care for the environment,
and achievements in advanced technology. All the facilities
exhibit an eco-friendly spirit, and are aesthetic attractions
in themselves.
Fine Arts Park Area – Oasis of Nature, Plant Life,
and Culture
The Fine Arts Park Area (美術公園區) is where each country
participating in the Flora Expo puts on a horticultural
display, and where competitions are held. In this area
are two structures newly built for the event, the Expo
Hall (舞蝶館) and Pavilion of Aroma of Flowers (風味館). There
are four exhibition buildings in the area, these two
along with the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (美術館) and Taipei
Story House (故事館), housing 35 individual display zones.
The Expo Hall is the key site for the Expo's opening
and closing ceremonies, and can seat up to 1,200 people.
The exterior has been deliberately designed to look
like a chrysalis, and a contrast of light and dark hollow
board sheeting has been used on the roof. An open concept
has been adopted, with the beautiful aesthetics of the
interior visible from outside, the natural ventilation
a special eco-friendly feature. The Pavilion of Aroma
of Flowers has also been constructed with an open-structure
design. Bamboo curtain walls divide the interior and
exterior, creating an appealing configuration of seven
large hexagon-shaped areas that resemble six harmoniously
interlocked morning glories. The unique appearance is
certain to make the building a Taipei landmark. Inside
the floor space is expansive, measuring 21,350 sq. ft.,
ample room for the housing of the flagship Flora Expo
gift shop, which will carry over 1,000 types of souvenir
items, for flower art exhibits, and for the conducting
of teaching workshops.
Existing Architecture Prettied Up in Fresh Bloom
for Flora Expo Duty
 For
the duration of the Flora Expo the Taipei Fine Arts
Museum (臺北市立美術館) will be staging shows with themes tied
in to the event. It has also extended invitations, domestically
and internationally, to workers in the art trade, artists,
and students in related programs to participate in lectures,
seminars, competitions, and other activities. First
on show will be the work of the well-known Chinese-American
visual artist Walasse Ting (丁雄泉), whose ebullient abstracts
of nude women, flowers, and other subjects are alive
with bold and expressive colors.
Located next to the museum is Taipei Story House (臺北故事館),
an attractive Tudor-style heritage building with a 90-year
history that has been called a“fairytale cream house.”In
harmony with the themes of the Flora Expo, the site
has undergone almost a full year of renovations that
have resulted in the seamless integration of the heritage
site and surrounding gardens, architecture and art.
Meticulous research has been done in the selection of
the flower-theme furnishings and the floriculture arts
employed so as to accurately reflect the life of a Taiwan
gentleman in the early 20th century and the aesthetics
of his upscale home. Visitors will be enthralled with
their glimpse into the“secret gardens”that were created,
in this recreation of a slice of Taipei life from a
century ago.
Yuanshan Park Area – Historic Architecture Doing
Modern Duty
 Within
the Yuanshan Park Area (圓山公園區) is the famed Yuanshan
Site (圓山遺址), location of important archaeological digs
revealing Taiwan's prehistoric culture. Because of this,
all horticulture and building carried out in the area
is approached with extreme care. There are five Flora
Expo exhibit facilities in the park: Expo Dome (爭豔館),
Pavilion of New Fashion (流行館), Celebrity's House (名人館),
Pavilion of Culture (文化館), and Expo Theater (真相館). The
latter three are renovated buildings from the Taipei
Children's Recreation Center (臺北市立兒童育樂中心), given new
life in keeping with the Flora Expo's 3R advocacy –
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
The Expo Theater has what was the World of Tomorrow
facility at the Children's Recreation Center in revamped
format, the only 3D theater at the sprawling Flora Expo
site. The film shown on the giant IMAX screen will have
Face the Reality of the Earth (面對臺灣的真相) as focus, with
virtual-reality simulations of typhoons, earthquakes,
landslides, and other natural disasters, addressing
the various forms of environmental risks that the local
population confronts and exploring possible solutions.
The production team includes well-known Hollywood talent
in special effects, including Richard Kidd, director
of visual effects for Transformers and Spider-Man 3,
and Karen Goulekas, visual effects supervisor for The
Day After Tomorrow. Their team creation will leave you
spellbound.
 The
Pavilion of Culture is the former World of Yesterday,
featuring the architecture of the south Fujian and east
Guangdong areas from whence the forefathers of the Taiwanese
came. Three exhibits,“Floral Feast”(花神宴),“Destiny of
Rebirth”(再生緣), and“Floral Dreams”(花夢), will celebrate
the charms of Taiwan's old-time folk arts. The pavilion
is charmingly called“Artistic Feast of the Pear Garden”(梨園藝宴),
a reference to a group called the Pear Garden from the
Tang Dynasty that was the first operatic troupe in China's
history. Installation of“Zhulin (Bamboo Forest) Battle
Array”(竹林藝陣) will be staged, depicting the self-defense
martial-arts organization of Taiwan's villages in pioneer
days, a rollicking show of opera, music, dance, battle
formations, acrobatics, and martial arts. It is to be
a true feast of the senses, magnificently delivered
on 684 occasions by the troupe of highly skilled performance
artists.
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