With this temporary pavilion called “Planet m“ the Bertelsmann Media Group presented itself to the world at the “EXPO 2000“ in Hanover. “m“ stood for “media for the people“ as the motto for a completely new concept of architecture in the era of the digital media – totally flexible in itself and at the same time posing a challenge to our perception.
The diagram for this pavilion envisaged a shiny oval spaceship hovering above nine metre high steel pipe columns. People entered into the world of the new media not via an ordinary entrance, but via a space lift platform, which pushed up to 200 people at any one time into the “planet”. The 46 by 36 metre wide oval “planet“ had particular features, such as the “multimedia experience“, which gave access to the second part of the building via a bridge. This more conventionally organized wing contained three exhibition levels and presented the world of the old print and paper media, expressed by a façade of wooden slats. With the help of a flexible room partitioning system the pavilion could meet the publisher’s changing needs for either exhibition, merchandising or conference space.
The spaceship’s three-dimensional shell made of stainless steel mesh was created in cooperation with Ove Arup and the design partner company Triad. With James Turrel’s light installation softly shaping the pavilion, it was turned into a shining “media star“. The image of the “new media” was thus expressed by the “star’s“ visual changeability.