Expo '92
Isla de la Cartuja has a model Ariane rocket that stands taller than the spires of The Cathedral of Saint Mary, yet it is one of the least travelled attractions in the Andalusian city of Seville. This wasn't the case 24 years ago where some 40 million people flocked to the island grounds between April and October of 1992 to experience the Universal Exposition.
Today, much of what remains of Expo ’92 is now in disrepair, however a number of pavilions were preserved as an ode to the architecture and politics of an era and are still standing among the modern research & development facilities that moved in. The juxtaposition of old and new seems to be innocuous; crumbling water features still spitting water through cracked tiles, new cars parked next to decommissioned escalators and modern, glittering research buildings scattered throughout the abandoned infrastructure. The bizarre co-existence is starkly symbolic of the struggle between Sevillians to preserve the Expo's cultural legacy and the local government's pressure to spend it's money elsewhere.
It's as though the exposition's theme, “The Age of Discovery”, that once inspired visitors to look to the future, is now serving as a reminder not to overlook the past.
An exact replica of the European Space Agency's Ariane V launch system towers beside a dried up river bed that once separated it from the Pavilion of Futures
Though the experience was meant to convey cultural exchange and imagining the future, the need to keep visitors cool in the oppressive heat yielded some of the expo's most iconic structures. The features used to provide temporary relief included water, vegetation and the iconic bioclimatic sphere, which created a small, localized area that
was 7 degrees cooler than the overall temperature.
sun blockers
The iconic bioclimatic sphere
The national pavilions that remain, residing between the main thoroughfares, tell intricate stories of countries desires to take their destiny into their own hands during the first decade that proceeded the end of the Cold War. With over 100 countries represented, it was a unique opportunity for those countries who were transitioning from dictatorships, recovering from war, or emerging from the shadow of the Iron Curtain in Europe to assert their identities and tell their own stories on a world stage. Each national pavilion was a carefully crafted, politically charged monument, one of the best still-standing examples is the Hungarian pavilion.
Between the Holy See and Austrian Pavilions, Hungary's bizarre helmut like structure is black on one side to show purposeful disdain towards the Vatican, and white on the side facing Austria as a gesture of embracing the west after emerging from Communism.
The Tower of Europe residing on the Avenue of Europe. The tower is covered in the flags of the 12 countries that would form the EU the following year in 1993. It is a symbol of the unity that Europe is struggling to maintain today.
Chile having transitioned to democracy in 1990 had an impressive wooden pavilion containing an iceberg from Patagonia. A testament to their strength and resources. The building is now for sale.
The Moroccan pavilion with a once stunning fountain feature, now dried up
The Mexican pavilion, a large horizontal concrete structure with a giant X symbolizing its pronunciation and the country as a cultural crossroads.
Kuwait's pavilion had a rooftop resembling clasped hands that opened up
The old ceramics factory that once occupied the monestary
One of 2 remaining decomissioned monorail stations
The Quadalquivir Gardens filled with unmaintained water features
So what does it all mean? Perhaps it's timely and fitting that a site once used to communicate global unity for a hopeful future has fallen into disrepair, or that the need for technological innovation has been valued over the preservation of the past. For now, the reward of seeking out a lesser known bit of history is the reflection it lends to our current state of affairs.