Expo Zaragoza 2008

1001 nights in Zaragoza

2008-03-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

Well, sorry to say that Expo Zaragoza 2008 will be slightly shorter than that (June-September). However during the long and warm summer nights in Saragossa you can profit to go to magic places where you will be transported far away from XXI century, far away from Europe, even far away from hot summer in Zaragoza….promised.Below just a couple of suggestions:-El Pilar y la Seo: “El Pilar” is a

Expo Zaragoza 2008 world class shows

2008-02-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

Pichon who is that man? this is a man that when hired to run the aerial design for Tarzan and other walt disney musicals a few years ago and asked by a national (argentinian) journalist whether he had the fear to be good enough he replied by saying: No podés medir las alturas. Si te ponés a ver cuál es la altura de un pico, te asustás y no lo subís. Supongo que es como estar surfeando: se te

Belgium at Expo Zaragoza 2008

2008-02-06T02:52:00.000-08:00

Belgium is a paradoxical country in many aspects, just to mention one: despite being the so called capital of the European integration it is quite close to disintegrating as a country due to the continuous disputes between the Flemish and the Walloons.The country is also divided in terms of water resources, with the North dependent from the South. Wallonia satisfies 55% of the national needs in

Expo Zaragoza 2008 visits Brussels, capital of Europe

2008-01-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

For those of you new to the Expo Zaragoza 2008 you might be thinking what the hell is that creature...Well, the ET looking drop of water is called Fluvi and was overlooking us at the presentation of Expo in the European Parliament. There, the 27 countries of the European Union are represented and what is more, guaranteed they can use their national language as a working language (with

"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" in Zaragoza

2007-12-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

Bob Dylan's has recorded a new version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" to promote next year's Expo Zaragoza 2008.Amaral will play the Spanish version of the song.I leave you with the less than 5 minutes advertisement where Bob Dylan sings his beautiful song and, at the very end, explains he wants to help to make sure that there is clean water for the around 1000 million people missing it.That’

Japanese sustainable civilization shows wisdom at Expo Zaragoza

2007-10-29T04:14:00.000-07:00

“In the land of Asian Monsoon climate and ragged terrain, with geographical limitations surrounded by sea on all four sides, Japanese people have developed skills, culture and lifestyles that live in harmony and symbiosis with nature, rather than confronting it….”.The above explains why “Harmony with Water, Wisdom and Skills” is the theme for the Japanese pavilion at Expo Zaragoza 2008. I think

Water for Life: Zaragoza put on the map (of United Nations)

2007-10-18T04:05:00.000-07:00

Under the United Nations Charter all humans are guaranteed the right to life (and as water is necessary for life…) however in practice this is an empty right for….1.200 million people. This is nothing new. But something is moving in Zaragoza. A brand new United Nations office to support the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 just opened there on the 5th of October 2007.But

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Water, $ and clothes)

2007-09-21T05:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is like a Western...altough it might not be evident as first sight...Reading about washing machines new water & energy efficient models, you start thinking whether the shirts with the tomato sauce will have a second life just putting them inside your new energy efficient and cheap washing machine or that wont be enough. Basically would mean that decreasing energy and decreasing water

Estimation of water saving potential in Europe doubles

2007-08-31T03:49:00.000-07:00

A report published by the Commission states that water use in the European Union could be reduced by about 40%. This figure is nearly twice as much as previously estimatedHowever, in a business as usual scenario it is estimated that water consumption by the public, industry and agriculture would increase by 16% by 2030. Hopefully the Expo will help us, all of us, to achieve this water saving

Eagles view of Expo Zaragoza city treasures

2007-08-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Well, 2 posts ago, i provided you with the essence of Zaragoza from an historic point of view. Now, i want to show to you...Enjoy!Pd. in particular, the first 2 minutes of the video are great ;)

Expo Zaragoza telecabin under (melted) snow thread

2007-08-23T05:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I think this time I have got it. The most twisted title of a blog entry ever ;)A similar telecabin to the one above will join the new train station of “Delicias” where the high speed trains will be arriving from Madrid and Barcelona with the Expo premises.After the Expo hopefully will be dismantled and reuse (instead of the one of the Expo in Sevilla) it in one of Aragon´s ski resorts….if

Aragon Winter Olympic Games bid under (melted) water thread

2007-08-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

People from the region will know that in recent times we have tried many times to win the bid for winter Olympic Games. Now that infrastructures are getting better, we have a new thread to our Olympic dream…warm weather.Some years ago, United Nations officials presented before the International Olympic Committee some findings about warming and snow..no doubt this is affecting how the IOC chooses

Iceberg in the river Ebro = Cool inauguration of Expo

2007-08-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

An enormous Iceberg measuring 55 metres wide by 20 metres high, will be the stage for the inauguration show at Expo Zaragoza 2008. The authors of the show explain in a video that a reduced version of the show (lasting around 20 minutes) will be performed every night between 10.30 pm and 11 pm from 14th June to 14th September 2008. In addition, it is expected that the

Snake chasing clouds at Expo Zaragoza

2007-07-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Everyday at Expo Zaragoza 2008, from noon -where the sun will be quite high and strongly shinning- the Circus of Sun will give a walk to its snake to help clouds to move and show the power of rain while presenting the Legend of the Rainbow. JeanFrançois Bouchard, the project manager explained that- the 75 minutes parade will start near the statue representing “the Soul of the Ebro river” by Jaume

Historic Zaragoza in 1 post

2007-07-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

With more than 20 centuries on its shoulders, Zaragoza´s history comes to meet you… you have just to walk around to discover it. I will just highlight 3 “must”:-El Pilar y la Seo: “El Pilar” is a Fantastic basilique built where the Virgin Mary appeared in the year 40 to Apostol Saint Jacques. There inside you have “frescos” from Goya . La cathedral of “La Seo” is where previously was the mayor

“Acciona”, saulty water and Expo Zaragoza 2008

2007-07-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

Acciona is a multinational working, among others, in the field of water desalination. They are also official partners of Expo Zaragoza 2008 (in fact they will exhibit in a huge 1000 m2 pavilion) and they use this fact for their ads in newspapers. Specifically Acciona will sponsor with 8 million euros (partially deductible). Acciona itself has been granted several projects within the Expo,

Expo Zaragoza 2008: The biggest water show on earth

2007-07-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

30 seconds advertisement of Expo Zaragoza 2008….in spanish but self-explanatory.

Ebro river talking, Ebro river talking....anybody listening

2007-06-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

The talking island at Expo Zaragoza 2008 Ebro river nearby its left bank is a landscape installation created by Eva Lootz which will be an island-ear or ear-land. Well, in fact, instead of listening, as commonly ears are supposed to do, it will be spreading sounds, the voice of the river… Eva Lootz, Austrian artist living in has been living and working in Valencia, Spain, since the Seventies

Oikos outdoor pavilion at Expo Zaragoza 2008

2007-06-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

O-ikos means “the house” in Greek. Situated in the Ebro plaza, near the river aquarium the “Oikos”: Water and Energy Plaza” will showcase different sources of energy and devices to capture it such as solar panels, windmills, etc: -The Sun. in a 6-metre diameter room with a dome-shaped roof the Sun is presented as the cause of meteorological phenomena, the day, night and our seasons. -The wind.

Music water artefact at Expo Zaragoza 2008

2007-06-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

This “yellow and black¨ecosystem-machine will bring water from the micro-lake in the basement till the 8 metres high top and back again…with the help of the public…and creating "music" in the process. I am sure kids will love it. The author is the German Roland Olbeter who lives and works in Barcelona since 1988. He is a multidisciplinary character, mix of a trained musician (concert violinist)

Chinese water culture exhibited at the 2008 Zaragoza World Expo

2007-05-31T03:49:00.000-07:00

According to Gong Qijun (vice-director of the exhibition department of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade) the Spanish Expo in Zaragoza will allow China to prepare to play host to the World Expo in 2010. "We attach great importance to the Zaragoza World Expo and consider it a rehearsal for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. It's the first time a developing country will host the

The Water Tribune: third pillar of Expo Zaragoza 2008

2007-05-18T07:52:00.000-07:00

What is the Water Tribune? Together with the exhibitions and performances, the Water Platform is a basic pillar of the Expo Zaragoza 2008. It is a space for reflection and discussion revolving around the global debate on Water and Sustainable Development through innovation. Reflection and discussion. This is good.The United Nations reported that two-thirds of the world's population could be

La “Cesta”: Aragon’s pavilion at Expo Zaragoza 2008

2007-05-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

Aragon is the spanish region which hosts the Expo Zaragoza 2008 exhibition.With a surface of more than 47.500 Km2 Aragon is larger than other European countries such as Denmark, Holland or Switzerland and… of course, much less known than them. As I believe this to be a pity, I will use another post (or a lot of them, in fact) to let you know what you might be missing....In this blog, I will

Be frank, buy Frank (water)…possibly maybe at Expo Zaragoza 2008

2007-05-02T03:47:00.000-07:00

The theory is very simple. Booming bottled water market in the EU means… business?Well, that depends. Imagine that you founded a company to market water bottles and you give (so naïve :) the net profits (100%) to technology based clean water projects around the world.Uhmmm....a non profit company… yeahh you’ve got it!Now for a nano-second (not point in overheating neurons here ;) calculate how

Zaragoza Expo 2008 Noria: Europe's highest Water Wheel

2007-04-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

First, what is a noria. It is a water powered machine… the wheel is turned by the impact of water on paddles …the compartments discharge into an aqueduct….but also to produce power…Second, this is big, really big…around 5 floors building high and will provide 45 litres a second to irrigate the Expo Zaragoza 2008 area. Estimated price is 439.000 euros.The structure will be built by Syrian experts

Expo Zaragoza 2008 features extravagant "Botijo" building

2007-04-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

...a "botijo” is the best place to keep cool water & funniest way to drink it :)It is also the nickname of the Citizens’ Initiatives Pavilion building that NGOs such as WWF, Red Cross, Oxfam, etc are preparing for the Expo Zaragoza in 2008.Ricardo Higueras, the architect responsible for the pavilion explains that domes are very old. In this case it is a concentric dome. The shape chosen comes

Chinese business community interest in Expo Zaragoza 2008

2007-03-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

As you know, the International Exhibitions Bureau (IEB) Zaragoza Expo in 2008 is part of a series that includes the World Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan and World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. See to the right the impressive Shanghai TV tower seen from the Huangpu River). What you maybe dont know is the expectations created by the Expo in Aragon by the Chinese biz community.Virginia Seoane, a

Programmable Water for Expo Zaragoza 2008 and beyond: MIT digital mille project

2007-03-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

Can you programe water? Yes, you can... Read this: “Two kids take a running leap at the curtain of water, but it parts before they can get wet. Landing in a puddle on the other side, the sound starts a wave down the curtain that ripples along and fades in the distance. Jump twice and you get a bigger wave; jump in syncopation and you get the biggest waves of all”. What’s is this? Science fiction

Urban musical instruments at Expo Zaragoza 2008

2007-03-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

Performance architect Christopher Janney is what I would call a multidisciplinary guy…who studied architecture at Princeton and jazz in New York. The result: he believes is possible to create a piece of acoustic architecture…what? able to imagine trees with high tech inside…well, not yet there… so in fact the “trees” look more like giant chupa-chups sticks…each of them containing audio speakers,

African pavilion in Expo Zaragoza 2008

2007-02-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

This 7 metres high façade will be the entrance of the Sub-Saharan Africa pavilion at night. It plans to show beautiful, evocative images of "steppes, grasslands and savannas", the theme of the pavilion. A company called Nussli, is in charge of the pavilion and his Director Daniel Cordey, thinks that this façade will " really create the impression of being in Africa”...and once inside? Each

Outdoor contemporary museum at Expo Zaragoza 2008

2007-02-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

Millennium Park fountain author Jaume Plensa will sign an outdoor project in the Expo Zaragoza 2008 area near river Ebro. From Plensa's numerous outdoor projects for public spaces I would to highlight the Millennium Park fountain in Chicago. Jaume´s fountain got my imagination…let's see whether I can catch yours… …imagine a XXI century gargoyle and put it in the middle of a park where kids go to

World Expo mascots family photo

2007-02-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

Well, by know everyone should know Fluvi, the ET looking drop of water promoting the Zaragoza Expo in 2008 under the theme: “Water and Sustainable Development”. You might like it or not, but it is clear that you cannot miss this mascot…yes…looks a little bit drank in the video...but funny…). In Zaragoza Fluvi was polemic from the start because of….her name. When several names were proposed and

Expo Zaragoza 2008 Bridge Pavilion and its (arguable) predecessor

2007-01-23T09:31:00.000-08:00

Zaha Hadid is an architect who experiments with new concepts in the pursuit of something new and appealing. For Zaragoza itself, to experiment with multifunctional bridges is not totally new as seen in the left of the picture which shows Zaragoza and its peculiar -and somehow old- bridge; picture is from 1647…almost 4 centuries ago!. Just starting the XXI century Ms. Hadid seems to have the

5 minutes virtual tour around Expo Zaragoza 2008

2007-01-02T15:52:00.000-08:00

As the saying goes im sure you can talk the talk but here you have the oportunity to walk the walk...hence here you go with the Zaragoza Expo 2008 virtual walk...

Europe's biggest Dino discovered 220 km away from Expo Zaragoza 2008 venue

2006-12-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

This 48 tons vegetarian “pet” whose 3.5-meter-long left forelimb is seen inset in the photo has been found south of Zaragoza, in Teruel.The remains of the Turiasaurio (ie. dino from Teruel) were found by a team led by Rafael Royo-Torres of the Joint Paleontology Foundation Teruel-Dinopolis.They also have a thematic park where you can see this and other dinos…it is called “Dinopolis” and you can

Ebro bridge-pavilion at the 2008 International Expo in Zaragoza gets world class content providers

2006-12-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

This landmark 270 metres long pavilion will joint obliquely (yes, obliquely!) both sides of Ebro river in the particular stile of Zaha Hadid (see more information about her posted at http://expo-zaragoza-2008.blogspot.com/2006/09/welcome-to-expo-zaragoza-2008-blog.html). That’s for the shape of the receptacle. The thing to be put into the Pavilion will not doubt be as important as the pavilion

4 African countries - 1 (disappearing) lake = 2 country participants to the Expo Zaragoza 2008 on Water

2006-12-13T08:12:00.000-08:00

Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon still share the Lake Chad, but the poor lake (or rather the poor inhabitants around) has apparently shrank by 20 times in the last 35 years. This doesn’t look good. It seems that climate change and human demand for water are the forces behind. However, curiously enough, the most dramatic decrease in the size of the lake is shown in the fifteen years between

Al Gore inconvenient truth & Zaragoza Expo 2008

2006-11-28T09:47:00.000-08:00

around 10 days ago I went to see the "An inconvenient truth" documentary with a friend.I feel that Mr. Gore makes sense in what he says and, if not, it seems to me a nice way of passing the time till he finds anything he likes more (presidential elections?) or both.After leaving the cinema, I felt sorry for all those huge glaciers just getting smaller and smaller, then becoming tiny seracs…then i

Zebra attacks Expo in Zaragoza

2006-11-15T04:08:00.000-08:00

Normally you can expect international or global events being disturbed by NGOs. For example, environmentalists accusing the organisers to cement the wild meander where the Expo will take place. But what would happen if the Zaragoza Expo in 2008 is “disturbed” by small Mussels dressed in fancy zebra tones?. Material for a colourful Expo carnival parade around the pavilions? Maybe. But it can be

Extreme Water pavilion (II)

2006-10-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

The aim of the themed plaza “Extreme Water” is to demonstrate the effects of tsunamis, hurricanes and Mediterranean cold fronts so realistically that the public can feel them. Javier Martín, the project’s Science Director (Professor of Physical Geography of Barcelona University), explains: “members of the public fear at the risks posed by water and think that better use and planning could have

Expo 2008: “Extreme Water” pavillion

2006-10-09T05:15:00.000-07:00

The 22 metres high pavilion construction should start by March 2007. According to the designers this pavilion will show the devastating effects of natural disasters : Tsunamis, etc. From outside the building will have the shape of a Tsunami wave …once inside you will be put the safety belt and will start feeling the power of water…

Fiesta in Zaragoza

2006-10-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

A fast entry in the blog just to let you know that next week Zaragoza will be on Fiesta.Will try to explain: my region's most important fiesta is in honor of the Virgen del Pilar celebrated in Zaragoza on October 12… but there is party for all of next week.On the day of Pilar there is a procession with a spectacular display of flowers (see left)dedicated to the Virgin.This is beautiful to see,

Welcome to Expo Zaragoza 2008 blog!

2006-09-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Zaragoza has been selected to host the International Exhibition in 2008 (from 14th June to 14th September 2008) under the Theme “Water and Sustainable Development”. Zaragoza is my city and I feel very proud of it. Currently, I am working in Belgium on environmental issues so the Expo theme is very much of my interest.When talking with non-spanish friends they are asking me all kind of questions