Expo Shanghai - Portugal dressed in Cork

The stunning Portugal Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, which opened on 1 May, is a showcase for natural cork — and Amorim. Amorim has supplied 5500m2 of cork for the pavilion, which boasts a bold architectural design.

Cork is displayed on the building’s facade, as a prominent element of the aesthetic design, as a flooring material and in several technical solutions.

In keeping with the Expo theme of ‘Better City, Better Life', pavilion organizers selected natural cork as a base and structural material.

Cork demonstrates sustainable construction, shows innovation in harmony with nature and has excellent acoustic, thermal and anti-vibration insulation qualities.

It is also a raw material strongly identified with Portugal as the country has the largest area of cork oak forests in the world.

The 3640m2 facade of the Portugal Pavilion is covered with 28 thousand kilograms of insulation corkboard — considered the most environmentally friendly insulation solution in the world. Inside, Wicanders® cork flooring covers the floor over an area of 1100m2. In terms of technical solutions, 780m2 of ACM (Acoustic Core Materials) manufactured by Amorim Cork Composites is utilised in a projection room for

sound absorption.

Expo Shanghai 2010 runs from 1 May to 31 October. About 190 countries and 50 international organisations are participating in the event that is estimated to attract some 70 million visitors.