Revery Architecture

When designing the Canada Pavilion in Seville, the intent was to express the nature of the Canadian ethos and spirit in a bold way that would still feel at home among Spanish architecture. The spirit of traditional Spanish buildings is evoked with thick, zinc (a nod to Canada’s position as the world’s largest exporter of zinc) tiled walls to control the sun, colonnades and a cool, serene courtyard which forms the back-drop for a showcase of Canadian culture. Natural convection was used to draw warm air through a shaded colonnade at the base, past a cascading water wall into the courtyard through roof grilles to reduce temperatures by up to 20 degrees F (10 degrees Celsius). This dramatically improved the comfort of visitors queuing – sometimes as much as eight hours – in hot, summer temperatures. Housing a performance stage, exhibit hall, restaurant, art gallery and a 500-seat Imax Theatre, this Pavilion was among the most popular at Expo 92.