EXPO 2005 AICHI FRENCH PAVILION FACTSHEET

March 2005

Theme: Sustainable Development

“Sustainable development” means meeting today's needs without endangering the future. The concept of sustainable development was the core idea in Our Common Future, a report that Gro Harlem Brundtland, then Prime Minister of Norway, presented to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 1987. Asserting that “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” Dr. Brundtland took the position that “Development must be conducted in moderation, with due consideration of the preservation of the environment, recognizing that the environment and development can be pursued not in opposition to each other but in harmony.”

Size, Exterior and Facade of the Pavilion

The pavilion sits on a 1,300-square-meter site and has a total floor space of 3,240 square meters (90m ´ 36m). It will be the largest of the international pavilions. For the first time in the history of the world and international expositions, two countries, Germany and France, have decided to participate together in the same building. At the entrance to the pavilion, a series of huge photographs by noted French photographer, Thierry Girard, provide illustrate three regions grappling with sustainable development: Guadeloupe, Mont Saint-Michel and Dunkirk.

Immersion Theater

This multi-screen theater combines six screens (front, back, left, right, above, below) to completely surround the audience. An array of 12 projectors showcase high-resolution movies. The space can hold about 160 visitors comfortably, and up to 250 at peak time. A 14-minute feature will be shown entitled Does the Future Have a Future?

Bruno Badiche designed and created the Immersion Theater.
Rodolphe Burger and Yves Dormoy created the soundtrack.
Jean-Michel Frere is the theater director.

Interactive Forum: What Concern Us?

Located at the center of the pavilion, the interactive installation “What concern us?” proposes a new form of relationship with the images. Capted by cameras, the visitors are followed by individual lights. Their presence and movements in this large space triggers the apparition of 12 videos, and hundreds of questions about sustained development.

Conception, content, video and music : Thierry FOURNIER
Conception and interactivity : Thierry FOURNIER and Emmanuel Mâa BERRIET
Real time software programming : Emmanuel Mâa BERRIET and Jan SCHACHER
Project development : Le Troisieme Pole

Islands: Six Examples of Sustainable Development by Local Governments, NGOs and Enterprises (Installation)

The City of Angers: A Sustainable Development Laboratory City

With a population of 156,000, Angers is France's 16th largest city. In 1999, this city in the Loire valley launched a “sustainable city plan.” Near the city is Ile Saint Aubin, a 600-ha island habitat for several endangered species of flora and fauna. Registered in the RAMSAR international recognition, the city also listed in Natura 2000, the EU's program to support species diversity by protecting Europe's native fauna and natural habitats. An audiovisual installation, ISA (Ile Saint Aubin) 2005, is presented to recreate the island's environment aurally and visually.

Director: Noëlle Pujol

Chalon-sur-Saone and the Grand Chalon: A Privileges Program for Reduce Greenhouse Gases

Chalon-sur-Saone and the Grand Chalon in France, WWF France, the Environmental Center, ADEME (the French environmental energy development agency) and the EU have signed up for a program to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions at the municipal level. The objective of this program is to prove by tangible results that greenhouse-gas emissions can be reduced ahead of the timetable stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol of 1997. French artist Lilian Bourgeat has created an installation that uses light bulbs and TV games to symbolize the effects of the program.

Artist: Lilian Bourgeat

Louis Vuitton: Naturally Creative

Louis Vuitton presents its “Carbon Inventory”, which has been conducted in order to quantify all greenhouse effet gas emissions resulting from its activities.

Inside the Louis Vuitton “island”, made of 4,000 sea salt plates that symbolize sustainable development, a 4 minutes film, describing the spirit and efforts of Louis Vuitton to create in harmony with nature, will be presented to visitors.

Video director: Marc Heymann
Exhibition Designer: Gerard Cholot

Toyota in Valenciennes: Green, Clean, Lean, Factory 21

This photo essay is an introduction to Toyota Motor Corporation's Valenciennes factory, “one of the most environmentally friendly Toyota factories in the world.” The factory's slogan is “Green, Clean, Lean, Factory 21”, underscoring its target to be a factory with zero emissions, low resource consumption and effective use of energy.

Photographer: Stéphane Couturier

Dassault Systems: Sustainable Innovation

This installation uses a 3D simulation to illustrate the process of completing an “object of imagination” measuring 5 m in height and 13 m in width.

Designer: Pierre Schall, with a professional team from Dassault Systems

Video produced by:
Sur le Toit (on the roof)
Software used in the simulation: CATIA (design),
DELMIA (motion simulation), Optis (visual simulation)

The Dunkirk Community: A Sustainable Industrial Development

This city has been grappling with sustainable development for over 10 years. With a population of 210,000 and with six neighboring countries within a radius of just 300 km, Dunkirk is at the center of a region with a population of 100 million. Dunkirk is also France's third-busiest port, with total shipments of 51 million metric tons in 2004. Over 300 businesses have started operations here with investments totaling €2.7 billion. About 8,500 of the jobs here were created in the last 20 years.

This role-playing game uses 3D images and light to give visitors a palpable experience of the ways the region, its people and its businesses are implementing sustainable development.

Artist: Georges Rousse
Creator of the interactive facility: Sur le Toit

The Boutique

The boutique is stocked with “products with memories.” With over 40 traditional French products on display, the boutique exudes the French culture and traditional identity. Many of the goods have been popular with French consumers for over a century and are part of the French people's everyday lives.

The Restaurant

This restaurant, which seats 120 guests, serves lunch and dinner in an authentic French style. For the duration of the exposition, Guy Martin, chef of Michelin three-star restaurant Le Grand Vefour, will oversee the kitchen. In 1999 Guy Martin was named “Chef of the 21st Century.”

Uniform

The uniform for the guides of the French pavilion and the staff working at the restaurant in the pavilion was designed by fashion designer, agnes b., who is also active in a wide array of social activities. The uniform's simple design allows for the coordination of a variety of mix'n match styles. And those who wear the designs are sure to feel great in them too.

Project Manager

Jean-Marc PROVIDENCE

Secretary General

Christophe LEROY

Honorable Commissioner General

Koji TAKANOHANA, the 65th Yokozuna of Sumo

Commissioner General

Bernard TESTU
Chairman of Operating Committee, EXPO 2005 AICHI JAPAN

Press Contact

Gabrielle BLANC
French Pavilion
P.O. Box 32, EXPO 2005 AICHI
Nagakute Area 480-0001
TEL: 0561-63-4460
FAX: 0561-63-4467
* Detailed press kit is available at PR office of French Pavilion.