National Horticultural Council

Floriade 2012 opening pavilion

The Floriade, the famous decennial world horticultural fair. For its organiser, the Dutch Horticultural Council, DST developed the opening pavilion for the 2012 Venlo edition. An impressive 360 degrees cinema that immersed visitors in the world of horticulture on arrival. For six months it was the Netherlands’ largest cinema with a daily peak capacity of 30,000 visitors. It certainly was one of the most impressive, too.

photo: Bram Budel

The Dome

DST provided concept, design and realisation of the pavilion, ran it for six months and then found a fitting re-use for it. Its surprising film production was developed and shot on location in close coordination with all branch organisations associated with the Dutch Horticultural Council. Of the more than 2 million visitors to Floriade 2012, an estimated 1.5 million passed through the opening pavilion.

After the Floriade 2012, the pavilion was dismantled and rebuilt off-site as a B2B reception pavilion with an international company. Equipment and pavement were also re-used. This meant the pavilion fitted into the cradle-to-cradle philosophy Floriade organisers had laid out for contractors.