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There are currently four organizations that are supporting a state exhibition. A collaboration is now being examined.
A monolith in the lake, Arteplages as an exhibition site in the Three Lakes region – many people remember the national exhibition Expo 02. It took place in 2002 and attracted around ten million visitors to Biel, Murten, Neuchâtel and Yverdon-les-Bains. There are now four projects for the next national exhibition. There are now plans to merge the four projects. The goal: no uniformity, but combined forces in order to be able to realize a national exhibition at all.
Svizra27, Nexpo, X27 and Muntagna – all four have projects for a state exhibition. While Svizra and Nexpo are rather broadly positioned financially and in terms of personnel, X27 and Muntagna also rely heavily on volunteers. The furthest is probably Svizra 27, which has already defined exhibition locations.
Svizra27 announces that the competing projects will now be created into one. “We have heard more and more from the political side that a merger will be necessary to realize a state exhibition,” says Jost Huwyler, overall project manager of Svizra27, to SRF.
Initial discussions with the other projects have taken place. You compare the basic ideas, the locations and the costs and want to combine forces.
Mountains and Mittelland – would that be possible?
Ideas for an exhibition in the Mittelland and the mountains can easily be merged, according to Nexpo, for example, when asked: “We already have members in northwestern Switzerland and in the mountains. A merger with the north-western Swiss project Svizra27, the Muntagna mountain project and the very participatory X27 project would therefore be in the spirit of Nexpo.” Nexpo is convinced that a joint project would increase the chances of a state exhibition.
The appearances of the various Expo projects
It sounds similar at the X27 club. A merger of the projects was suggested years ago, says Peter Sauter, co-president of the X27 association, when asked. Switzerland needs a single project and no competing variants. Spatial solutions can always be found, now it is important to act as a unified voice. This would make it easier to negotiate with the federal government and the cantons.
The Muntagna association, which has an Alpine Expo as its vision, is also open to a merger, he says: “It is important to us that our vision of sustainably developing the Alps as a place to live and work is realized.” The club is convinced that a merger would certainly bring about a synergy gain.
Experience architect reviews projects
Svizra27 has brought experts on board to examine the merger closely. “The experienced experience architect Xavier Bellprat was commissioned by Svizra27 and us to check whether the projects are compatible and could be combined,” those responsible said. In the draft final report he came to the conclusion that it would be possible to combine the projects.
In the fall, the organizations will decide whether they agree to the final report. The chances are good that they can agree on a single project that they will submit, Svizra 27 continues. It is not yet clear when and where the next state exhibition would take place. Those responsible say that a project outline for the next state exhibition should be ready by the end of the year.