The World's Fair in Detroit Michigan
THE VISION of the WORLD's FAIR at DETROIT
With a little help from photoshop, some sketches, and a good dose of imagination, you'll find mockups, visions, ideas, prototypes and concepts jumbled together to put a framework around what a World's Fair in Detriot might actually look like.
Belle Isle,
Home of the
Detroit World's Fair
Coincidentally Belle Isle has 982 acres which is the size of the average World's Fair.
EXPO '67 was held in Montreal, Canada and was also bulit on an island in the middle of the St. Lawrence river.
Borrowing an image from that fair and overlaying it on Belle Isle, gives us an amazingly realistic view of what the Detroit World's Fair might look like.
The final blueprint for the Fair will be determined by skilled Architects and Draftsmen. My goal here is to get your imagination working with a collage of web pics and hand drawn sketches that will hopefully inspire you.
Let's say that the World's Fair idea is a hit and the resources and planning fall together quickly and the opening day of the fair is scheduled for June 1st of 2020.
DETROIT
Perfect Vision
A Clear Look At The Future Of Mankind
SOLAR AND WIND
POWER THE FAIR
The World's Fair in Detroit will require large amounts of electricity to power all the various pavilions and attractions. To make this a "green" venture, we've got to look beyond conventional means of generating power. There are several new technologies that could be used to great effect both for the power they generate and the beauty of the technology itself.
"Rising out of the Andalusian countryside like a gigantic obelisk, a 40 story concrete tower surrounded by fields of photovoltaic panels is is the first stage of Europe’s first commercial solar power station , which recently went into operation in a sunny region outside Seville, Spain." Read more: SEVILLE’S SOLAR POWER TOWER
Each fair has iconic structures and this is destined to be that. Rays of sunshine illuminate moisture and dust in the air up to a focal point which is illuminated by hundreds of rotating mirrors that track the sun (heliostats). The intense sunlight powers a steam turbine generating ample electricty for the fair and the surrounding countryside. The mirrors would be located on top of pavilions and grids in an arc around the face of the tower.
For overcast days and nights, a new Wind Turbine developed by FloDesign, would provide the needed power. This turbine works equally well in low wind conditions as high. Taking its cue from jet engines, it concentrates the air on the wind vanes. It's also quite massive.
The Fair is about us, regular people;
the Common Man
Many times World's Fairs have specific themes. Some of the past ones were: Agriculture, Sports, the Oceans, Horticulture, World Cultures, Clean Water, Young Inventors. While these are all valid topics, they also limit the kinds of attractions that are featured. By making the topic of the Detroit World's Fair about us, it opens the door to attractions, companies and pavilions that will directly influence our future lives.
As a symbol of the needs of mankind, the fair is centered around the Court of the Common Man. In the middle of the Court is the giant solar tower. Surrounding it are the large facades of the main pavilivons, each labeled according to its purpose.
Teach the People - Education Pavilion
Clothe the People - Textiles Pavilion
Shelter the People - Housing Pavilion
Feed the People - Agriculture Pavilion
Heal the People - Medical Pavilion
Move the People - Transportation Pavilion
Hear the People - Arts and Music Pavillion
Connect the People - Computer Technology Pavilion
Facing the court is a large bronze statue of a kneeling man as if in respect and honor to those entering the Court.
I was inspired by "Fanfare for the Common Man" by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I could imagine them at the opening ceremony playing this song.
It's even got a theme song.
We'd also have on-going music concerts celebrating the rich musical heritage of Detroit.
BUILT TO LAST
This fair is fundamentally different from others in one important aspect - it's desgined from the very beginning to be permanent. Too much effort and money have been spent on past fairs only to have the beautiful architecture and spaces razed to the ground. Even the iconic Effiel Tower was scheduled at one time to be torn down and sold for scrap. Can you imagine? If the fair can't be a lasting benefit to the city that hosts it, what's the point?
Let's go to the fair and see what's inside.
Here we'll explore each of the main pavilions and take a sneak peak at some of the possible exhibits and technology that will be presented.
Teach the People
The Education Pavilion is dedicated to new techniques and technologies to improve education. Part of the Education hall contains a 1000 seat auditorium that holds TED talks, lectures, demos, author discussions, panels and debates throughout the duration of the Fair.
Clothe the People
The Textiles Pavilion concerns textile clothing, manufacturing, sales and distribution. The main areas are: fiber science, quick response/custom tailoring/manufacturing, store tech, clean tech, smart clothing and history.
Fiber science explores developments in thread and yarn production. Quick response has demonstrations of automated systems that scan, create and make custom clothing. Store tech is about future sales techniques. Clean tech demonstrates machines, techniques and products for cleaning clothes. The historical section covers cloth making from the earliest times to the present. Behind the Textile Pavilion is an International Bazaar with small private booths from all over the world that sell clothing from their countries.
There will also be several fashion shows highlighting designs from all over the world.
Shelter the People
The Housing Pavilion is divided into Home automation, entertainment, furniture, manufacturing, and re-modeling.
Outside the pavilion is the World Neighborhood which highlights new building techniques for companies around the world. Full-sized homes created from the very latest materials to the least expensive re-purposed materials are there for the Fair guests to explore.
Feed the People
The Agricultural Pavilion shows us developments in agriculture, food preparation, technology and even waste management.
Outside the building is a walkway lined with green houses and an area for crop demonstrations. A vertical farm grows many kinds of fruits and vegetables by hydroponics and aeroponics. An aquaculture display shows how fish can be grown in a small area. At the end of the walkway is the Food Court of Nations where guests can sample meals prepared with ethnic flavors. In the middle of the court is a lush hillside where guests can eat on secluded picnic tables in a shaded area.
Heal the People
The Medical Pavilion demonstrates the latest innovations in medical sciences. From disease prevention to new techniques for medical applications. It will cover all aspects of medicine from gene therapy to care for the elderly. It will explore how technology is improving people's lives and how doctors and medical staff are learning and applying the new techniques.
On the back of the building is a fully staffed hospital which is a permanent structure designed to serve the community when the Fair is over.
Move the People
The Transportation Pavilion is where we'll find the latest ways to get from one place to another. It will cover both personal and commercial systems that will be used to get us to work or to another planet. This is where the car companies will show their latest models and prototypes of what's to come.
Hear the People
The Music and Arts Pavilion will showcase the best talent in the business as well as new technology that makes all of us better musicians and artists. There will be on-going art shows and exhibitions as well as musical concerts.
Connect the People
The Computer Technology Pavilion is the largest building of the overall fair. The facility will serve as a convention/concert venue when the Fair is over. The pavilion is divided into: the cloud, wireless, robotics, games, productivity software, power users and history.
The cloud focuses on the latest trends by companies to offer services and features via the cloud. Wireless focuses on small portable wireless devices like smart phones, tablets and readers. Robotics demonstrates the most recent innovations in robotic technologies. Games covers both hardware and software game systems. Productivity covers business/home software and devices. Power users covers the latest in desktop video, graphics and heavy duty computing power. The history section reveals the history of the personal computer through the years with working hands-on demos.