DESIGN|MARKETING|TECHNOLOGY by Sarmistha Tarafder

Booth Design: India Pavilion, Shanghai 2010

11/12/2010

The Tree of Life is venerated symbol in nearly every culture. With its branches reaching into the sky, and roots deep in the earth, it dwells in three worlds- the heaven, the earth, and the underworld, uniting above and below. It is a symbol of abundance, reflecting the immortality of the cyclic ebb and flow of cosmic life. It is a union of the feminine and the masculine. Artists and Philospers have talked about it since ancient past. "It is a universal symbol, which transcends time and space and seek out deeper reality, expressive of the universal consciousness." Psychologist Carl Jung calls our "collective consciousness".

I believe, when the India Pavilion was designed for the Shanghai Expo 2010, the Tree of Life played an important motif in the engineering and the architecture of the space. The highlight of the pavilion was dome structure, modeled after Sanchi Stupa, an ancient Buddhist temple built about 24 centuries ago. In a nod to sustainable architecture, the dome's roof is covered by grids and wires that allow herb trays and solar cells to be mounted on it. The solar cells and wind turbine generates enough energy for the self-sustaining show exhibit and the herbs acts as a carbon sink purifying the surrounding environment. The 115 foot-diameter structure is now considered the world's largest bamboo dome.