The Flag

Our proposal for the Danish pavilion at EXPO 2010 is easily recognisable from a distance. With its two colours – white and red – and simple rectangles, Dannebrog says DENMARK more clearly than any other image or symbol. World Fairs have always been an opportunity to hoist our flag – and a chance to display our skills and daring in technology, research, industry and culture. An exhibition window is an invitation that says: Welcome inside a little piece of Denmark. And in 2010, in the age of globalisation, it is important to add: Welcome to a Denmark that is part of the world.

As you get closer, you realise that the flag is the building itself. The pavilion is in the shape of the Danish flag on all sides – also top and bottom. The four red rectangular fields, thus, form eight blocks and the white in the flag can be opened in both directions to form an inner square or urban space at the heart of the building. The total volume is tilted slightly to one side, and emphasised in strategic places, thus creating an entrance and an exit that provides shelter from the rain and shade on sunny days.

The entire concept for the Danish pavilion is built up around the vision behind the four special focus areas in the Danish communication platform described in the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs’ Action Plan for the Global Marketing of Denmark: Denmark as responsible and balanced, with a focus on high quality, experimental and courageous, and characterised by environmental awareness, simplicity and efficiency. The four characteristics are reflected more specifically in the four red rectangles of the flag – and thus in the building itself.