A worker takes field measurements on Saturday in Pudong as construction begins on the Theme Pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. — Shanghai Daily

Shanghai Daily news

Construction has begun on the massive, US$175 million-plus Theme Pavilion that will showcase innovative urban living exhibitions at World Expo Shanghai 2010.

It will prove a fitting tribute to the expo's theme, Better City, Better Life.

The green and energy-friendly Theme Pavilion, where work began on the weekend, will cover 80,000 square meters above ground, and another 40,000 square meters underground.

It is linked with Metro Line 8 and is near the China Pavilion at the expo's core site in Pudong.

"The construction and installation budget for the pavilion is about 1.3 billion yuan (US$175.41 million)," said Dai Liu, president of the Expo Group.

The Theme Pavilion is one of the most important places where organizers can highlight the expo theme, said Hong Hao, director of the Bureau of World Expo Coordination.

According to the organizers, the overall theme will be illustrated by five key points - city being, urban dwellers, urban planet, footprints and dreams.

The Theme Pavilion will demonstrate the intrinsic relationship between the first three - cities, human beings and the Earth. The other center on the future and history will be explored in renovated old factories on the Puxi side of the expo site.

The biggest exhibition hall in the Theme Pavilion is a 30,000-square-meter space without any pillars. The other two are big enough to hold four large passenger planes.

The roof of the Theme Pavilion is in the style of buildings in typical Shanghai lanes, or nongtang, which will also remind visitors of folded paper birds.

"We are trying to make the building as environmentally friendly as we can," said Dai.

In addition to standard "green" building considerations, such as energy efficiency, the Theme Pavilion will use rainwater to irrigate the greenery covering the outside areas of the walls.

After the Expo closes, the Theme Pavilion will become a permanent exhibition center.