Pakistan Gardens
Floriade Expo 2002, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
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It is true that Pakistan is new, but the land and its people are not new. They have existed, but whatever names they might have been known, before the present country of Pakistan came into existence. This land and these people have a history that sometimes flows by itself and sometimes it commingles its waters with other streams of cultures and histories. This stream, however, was not lost and when it again found a new channel, it may have lost its pristine characteristic but it could assert its own newfound identity as a resurrection, not a new birth. "It is the Far East Oriental Trading Group's Endeavor to become such a stream at the Floriade Exposition 2002 that attempts to commingle the history and the present, the simple and sometimes complex, the traditional and modern ways of the people who inhabit this land of the pure". Our display of Beautiful and Exotic plants and flowers from Pakistan along with traditional handicrafts would emanate Pakistan's rich cultural heritage and make apparent to the people of the world of the rich jewels our country is enriched with. Our interest and objective of participation in Expo 2002 is to project and display our rich heritage, our traditions and god-gifted resources, our exotic and unique plants and flowers along with traditional gardening techniques, creative and traditional products of Pakistan to the rest of the world with a view of exploring avenues of generating interest and promoting exports of the country.
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In order to accommodate the floral display of Pakistan, a philosophy had been made to create a structure that represents the cultural architecture of the country blended with local material of indigenous construction techniques. Therefore as overall scenario has been created that harmonized with the local floral representation.
Inspiration is derived from both the world famous Mughal as well as the contemporary floral designs of Pakistan and skillful landscape will be formed in lines with world famous Gardens, such as the Shalimar and Jehangir Gardens in Lahore. This will also reflect the advanced level of gardening and horticulture of the Mughal Era.
In lieu of the shape of site that has been allocated, a concentric planning is desired that will provide the maximum display at front glance to the visitors. The whole display is approached by a cultural semi covered corridor that will take the visitors from one end to another in sequence without any distraction. The visitors will pass through the covered area that will display Unique Pakistani Exotic indoor plants and flowers as well as local souvenirs as well. Semi open colonnade walls comprise of Arches in surrounding the designated area. This will give the internal view for the outside as well.
Locally manufactured (in some cases hand-made of burnt clay bricks are used throughout the structure. Thee types of bricks have been used in the region from a very early period. Local masons will be employed to build the brick walls. These walls are further flanked by Halla tiles, which are again very popular in Pakistani construction. These tiles are mostly manufactured in the province of Sindh with local manufacturing techniques. These are burnt clay-glazed tiles.
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The floor of the internal display will be of particle chemically polished marble. Pakistan has very rich marble mines and therefore has a very stable marble manufacturing industry. Unique patterns will be created to demonstrate the material and laying techniques. The paved floor of the corridor will be again in hand-made burnt bricks.
The roof is going to be made of reinforced concrete slabs that are manufactured in the local factories. The size of the slabs will be small and will be transported easily from one place to another. All the walls are the roof will be constructed in panels and slabs, which can be easily fixed by masons. In the case of demolition, all the roof and panels can be removed easily one by one without damaging itself or the adjoining area. In some cases they can be even reused. The height of the entrance is going to be 20'-0" whereas the height of the structure itself is 12'-0". There are going to be two entrances with one main entrance at the front and a rear entrance that will be used for entrance only.
The area of floral display is 1034 Sq.ft (One thousand and Thirty Four Square Feet) spread over two side curves, central rings and main entrance. All local flowers will be planted under the controlled environment if necessary. The main flowers that grow in Pakistan have good fragrances and steps will be taken to make sure that the visitors get to enjoy the same.
In short our aim is to provide the visitors to the Pakistan an extremely pleasant and unforgettable experience that they would take with them to the rest of the world. Spreading their good experience with their kith and kin and hence boosting interest and goodwill of the people the world over towards our Great and Beautiful country.
