The Swedish pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, opened this weekend. The Swedish pavilion, designed by Sweco, is one of close to 200 pavilions that will attract visitors from around the world.

Johannes Tüll and Christer Stenmark are two of the architects from Sweco who have been responsible for designing the Swedish pavilion. Tired and proud, they look out over the winding queues.

“There has been a lot of work up to the last minute and it’s a great feeling to have arrived at the grand opening. Today there is a long winding queue outside the entrance and it will be exciting to see their response to our pavilion,” says Johannes Tüll, who has been on site in Shanghai for the past month to supervise the construction process.

“It’s a fantastic experience to see that the Swedish pavilion has now become a reality. I am extremely proud that we have succeeded in creating a building that conveys our visions and ideas about the meeting between man, the city and nature,” says Christer Stenmark.

The World Expo’s theme of “Better City, Better Life” is focused on creating sustainable living conditions in the world’s fast-growing cities. Sweco’s design is based on the overall theme of the World Expo and the Swedish theme “Spirit of Innovation”. A central idea that has influenced the design is that of nature and the city as vital sources of inspiration for mankind. Innovative and creative people are needed to build a sustainable society.

The first thing that meets the visitor’s eye is the cityscape featured on the outer facades of the building. In the lanes that are formed between the four volumes, nature is displayed in the form of photographs by Mattias Klum. The exhibit shows many examples of sustainable innovative Swedish solutions. Among other things, the entrance is an advanced wood construction of environmentally certified glue laminated timber. As part of Sweco’s sustainable design, the pavilion can also be reused after the World Expo.