The Glass, Ceramics and Terracotta Industries - Expo Brussels 1958
The "Fire Arts" pavilion was designed to highlight the progress made in manufacturing methods and the many ways in which the products on display could be used. It was intended to show how the efforts made in these fields have lightened man's workload and contributed to his well-being.
The building itself was already an exhibition of many of the products of the three participating industries: brick bas-reliefs and clerestory walls, decorative coverings in multicoloured ceramics, walls with large-scale glass or coloured glass and a flamboyant emblem in enamelled glass enhanced the exterior.
The interior layout had wide aisles that allowed easy access to the display islands of the three classes of products, surrounding the pavilion's focal point. The focus of the pavilion included monumental symbolic constructions characterising the participating industries and erected in the material produced by each of them.
In the exhibition islands, which were provided with walking paths, the many different products of the three classes, displayed in an original way, could be examined closely and at leisure.
A reception and information service could provide all useful information and facilitate contacts with the exhibitors.
The elevated hall, with its large windows, was the place where the three industries displayed their best products. From the balcony of this hall, slides were projected explaining the manufacture and the particularities of the products on display.
An auditorium, adjacent to the exhibition hall, completed the building. It was used for the screening of documentary films. It was also used for conferences and specialist meetings.
© Guide Officiel Exposition Universelle de Bruxelles 1958 - Desclée & Co