Bringing Modular Hotel Design to China Flower Expo
The 10th China Flower Expo with the theme “Blossoming Chinese dream” has kicked off in Shanghai’s Chongming Island on May 21, 2021. The expo, held to showcase the development of China’s flower industry, will last until the 2nd of July, 2021. It is the largest and most influential horticulture event in China. Covering more than 589 hectares, the expo has gathered companies and horticulture associations from around the world to display nearly 30 million flowers, including many rare and exotic varieties. Among the international exhibitions, the Provincial Government of Quebec hosted a pavilion that featured the wild forests of Quebec with a recognition of the culture of the First Nations communities.
The Quebec Pavilion was designed by Ryan Brooker, Principal of WAA+ in Shanghai. It measures about 500 m2, with 12,000 plants representing 32 species of fauna. The timber features included Douglas Fir for the wood components and Metasequoia for the wood paving and entry sign.
To improve accommodations for visitors to the Expo, the temporary accommodation project of the Flower Expo was started in November last year, with Shanghai Electric Matechstone Engineering Group (MTS) being selected as the product supplier of the Chongming Modular House Hotel project. MTS is a key partner of Canada Wood (CW) China to combine a wood infill wall system with a precast concrete superstructure, called the “Prefabricated Energy-saving Cladding” (PEC) system.
To deliver the project within tight deadlines and adhere to Chongming District’s ecological construction concept of ‘green exhibition, low-carbon garden’, MTS decided to use the PEC system. The prefabricated wood walls are energy efficient, easy to manufacture in a factory setting, and can be used for external non-load bearing walls or internal infill walls, which optimizes the production and installation procedures. Canada Wood China supported MTS in delivering the hotel project, which covered 11,021 m2 in total floor area, with 492 volumetric boxes using the PEC system. Nearly 1,983m3 Canadian SPF was used for infill wall components. These wood-steel hybrid volumetric units clustered in pods demonstrate the feasibility of modern prefabricated wood technology and new possibilities for wood structures. This project serves as a substantial demonstration of the technology developed in partnership between Canada Wood China and MTS, and an opportunity to promote WFC at a significant event that mandated an ecological, low carbon approach.
