In 2010 the Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, British Columbia. In order to promote the event, the government of Canada and the province of British Columbia desired to create a presence at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Orca Creative Group entered a global competition for the project and emerged the winner. Orca commenced design and fabrication work on the 14 million dollar project. The final design included a three story 22,000 square foot interior and a 5,000 square foot, 3 story exterior.
In order to produce a presence that filled the needs of the greatest number of interested parties, Orca took part in over 130 meetings. These meeting included the federal government, the provincial government, Vancouver city representatives, tribal groups, industry groups and many others.
Building a pavilion 8000 miles away was a huge logistical challenge. There were tens of thousands of parts to consider. The site was inside an existing government building adjacent to Tiananmen Square. Orca was allowed only 14 days to assemble the project. Many elements were fabricated in Canada and shipped to China for assembly. The project was assembled by over 200 people working around the clock shifts. Ensuring that all parts of the pavilion arrived at precisely the correct time was a supreme test of Orca’s logistic abilities.
The interior of the pavilion was filled with cutting edge graphics and 42 HD screens. The video for those screens was synchronized to move crowds efficiently through the pavilion. Video content was created and controlled in Vancouver via Internet connection.
The British Columbia-Canada Pavilion was finished on time and on budget. It attracted a steady stream of visitors from May until it closed in October.
Go to Orca website.
Go to video on China project.
British Columbia Canada Pavilion in Beijing
