British Expo pavilion bristles with possibilities

It’s one thing to see renderings of the Shanghai 2010 Expo pavilion designs, but it’s quite another to get a virtual walk through. Heatherwick Studio, the architects behind the British Pavilion at this year's Shanghai 2010 Expo, have put together a preview film for Wallpaper, a design and lifestyle magazine, that might actually get us a bit excited for Shanghai's looming coming out party.

Although one of many innovative designs coming to the Expo, the British Pavilion has generated an impressive buzz, especially over its most visible feature: the mass of long radiating cilia that will coat the outside of the building.

“The centerpiece of the pavilion is the seed cathedral, a six story high cube-like structure, pierced by approximately 60,000 7.5m long slim transparent acrylic rods that sway gently in response to any wind movement,” writes Designboom.com. “During the day each of these rods will act like fiber optic filaments, drawing on daylight in order to illuminate the interior. At night, light sources at the interior end of each rod will allow the whole structure to glow from the outside.”

A glowing pavilion. We can’t wait to see this one.