Netherlands - Expo Montreal 1967
The Dutch pavilion has the appearance of a huge cocoon made of ingeniously interlaced aluminium tubes.
It rests on a concrete base covered with Dutch bricks. The three-storey building has three large exhibition halls on different levels, one of which projects a 45-foot overhang towards the St. Lawrence River. Dedicated to the friendship between Holland and Canada, this room has a panoramic window offering visitors a magnificent view of Montreal.
The Dutch pavilion illustrates the past and present, not only of the Netherlands, but also of the Netherlands Antilles and Surinam in South America. Water is an element of the pavilion itself, as the sound of waves breaking in a first-floor pool evokes the struggle against the encroaching sea. Some of the exhibits relate, for example, the difficult situation in the Netherlands, but also its victories: 1° the construction of dykes and deltas, 2° a population of 13 million inhabitants living on a small territory and yet intensive production, universally recognised industrialisation, an advanced level of education, a strong sense of urban planning and conservation of natural sites; 3° Rotterdam, the world's largest commercial port where every year more than a billion tonnes of goods are handled and which is a gateway to Europe, thanks to the famous Europort project.
A small fishing village, with its nets, windmill and houses with typical facades, represents traditional Holland.
© Expo67 - General Report