The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67
Montreal, Canada · 1967
Photo · Photo © Frei Otto
A seminal precedent for lightweight tensile architecture, demonstrating the use of a steel cable-net system clad in translucent panels to create organic, sweeping forms.
- What we like about this project
- The delicate, needle-like termination of the masts where the cable nets converge.
Materials
- acrylic-glass
- steel-cable-net
- steel-masts
- concrete
Visual identifiers
- tensile-canopy
- cable-net-structure
- hyperbolic-paraboloid
- steel-masts
- translucent-roofing
Style tags
- structural-expressionism
- organic-modernism
- mid-century
Visual tags
- tensile-architecture
- lightweight-structures
- expo-pavilion
- organic-form
- structural-expressionism
- Geometry
- Hyperbolic paraboloid tensile membranes suspended from tall vertical masts, forming dramatic saddle-shaped curves and sweeping peaks.
- Facade system
- Suspended cable-net membrane with integrated translucent acrylic panels.
- Structural guess
- Pre-stressed steel cable-net suspended from steel masts and anchored to concrete foundations.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale monumental pavilion structure spanning multiple stories in height.
- Lighting
- Warm, low-angle sunlight grazing the translucent roof panels, highlighting the grid structure against a dramatic blue sky.
- Atmosphere
- Dramatic and futuristic, with the glowing canopy appearing to float like a series of sails.
- Environmental context
- Set within an open parkland landscape with sparse deciduous trees and low-rise concrete retaining walls.
- Spatial experience
- The sweeping, translucent canopy creates a dramatic, light-filled shelter that blurs the boundary between interior and exterior landscape.
- Composition rhythm
- Triadic peak composition with repeating grid patterns across the undulating surfaces.
- Style reading
- Mid-century structural expressionism and lightweight organic architecture
- Program
- Exhibition pavilion
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- acrylic-glass, steel-cable-net, steel-masts, concrete
- Visual identifiers
- tensile-canopy, cable-net-structure, hyperbolic-paraboloid, steel-masts, translucent-roofing
- Style tags
- structural-expressionism, organic-modernism, mid-century
- Visual tags
- tensile-architecture, lightweight-structures, expo-pavilion, organic-form, structural-expressionism
- Geometry
- Hyperbolic paraboloid tensile membranes suspended from tall vertical masts, forming dramatic saddle-shaped curves and sweeping peaks.
- Facade system
- Suspended cable-net membrane with integrated translucent acrylic panels.
- Structural guess
- Pre-stressed steel cable-net suspended from steel masts and anchored to concrete foundations.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale monumental pavilion structure spanning multiple stories in height.
- Lighting
- Warm, low-angle sunlight grazing the translucent roof panels, highlighting the grid structure against a dramatic blue sky.
- Atmosphere
- Dramatic and futuristic, with the glowing canopy appearing to float like a series of sails.
- Environmental context
- Set within an open parkland landscape with sparse deciduous trees and low-rise concrete retaining walls.
- Spatial experience
- The sweeping, translucent canopy creates a dramatic, light-filled shelter that blurs the boundary between interior and exterior landscape.
- Composition rhythm
- Triadic peak composition with repeating grid patterns across the undulating surfaces.
- Style reading
- Mid-century structural expressionism and lightweight organic architecture
- Program
- Exhibition pavilion
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture