GREEK PAVILION AT THE FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR

FRANKFURT, GERMANY

The design of the Greek Pavilion at the 2001 Frankfurt Book Fair, where Greece was the honoured country, was based on an elliptical (crescent-shaped) main walkway traversing the whole pavilion. This walkway allowed for the movement of visitors in both directions and was intended to act as a continuous flow gateway to all the functions and exhibition stands of the Greek Pavilion. The walkway was highlighted both by a superimposed bright orange floor material and also by lighting fixtures hanging from the metal roof structure.

Two theatres were planned inside the crescent shape – an “open” 130-seat capacity amphitheatre and an enclosed 40-seat capacity multi-purpose projection and interview mini-hall. These two theatres were located back to back with the front wall of the mini-hall acting as a backdrop to the stage of the “open” amphitheatre. The semi-circular mezzanine level above the topmost tier of the amphitheatre had a partially glazed floor and was an integral part of the overall design. It allowed visitors to have an overview of the exhibition areas and of the whole Pavilion and could also accommodate standing spectators thus increasing the amphitheatre’s capacity during special events. Its pivotal role was further enhanced by the fact that it was accessed not only through conventional stairs but also from the amphitheatre tiers.

The exhibition stands were located in a way encouraging continuous flow around and through them.

Other elements of the design included the specially designed info-kiosks in the form of snakes and also the musical boxes. The use of bold colours was a dominant feature of the pavilion.

The exhibition space covered an area of 2700m² and was built in 10 days.