By order of the administration of the city of Irkutsk, a conceptual project was developed for an application for holding Expo 2025.
The Expo's theme - green economy, transparent relations with nature and rational use of resources - was born from the unique specifics of Lake Baikal, near which the city of Irkutsk is located.
Baikal is the largest reservoir of fresh water, containing one fifth of the world's reserves. According to the UN, in 2030, half of the world's population will live under the threat of water shortages. Therefore, a unique natural element - water - was taken as the basis for the development of the Expo concept.
The aim of the international exhibition is not only to demonstrate technical achievements, but also to raise the awareness of visitors about current environmental problems and methods of solving them. In addition, Expo in Irkutsk can improve the geopolitical influence of the city, develop the attractiveness of Russia for foreign investors and raise the socio-economic level of the region.
The city of Irkutsk is a tourist transit center - "the gateway to Baikal" with an actively developing infrastructure. The lake, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, attracts a large number of tourists, including foreign tourists from China, Germany, Mongolia, Korea and other countries. However, during the summer season, the tourist infrastructure of the city and the region is not able to meet the needs of the increasing number of visitors every year.
The Expo 2025 complex is proposed to be located on the Chertugeevsky Peninsula, on an area of 170 hectares. It is located in the bay, 60 km from Lake Baikal and is connected to it by the Angara River. It will be easy to get from the exhibition site to the lake both by boat and by land transport. The center of Irkutsk is located 8 km from the peninsula.
In the future, the exhibition region will become a major tourist center, meeting all the needs of tourists in housing and infrastructure. In addition, it is planned to transfer the administrative departments of the city there, which are currently scattered throughout Irkutsk. Also, the business centers will house large industrial and business companies operating in the Irkutsk region.
The following functional zones are planned on the territory of the peninsula:
A funicular will be located at the Expo for easy navigation.
Particular importance in the design of Expo 2025 was given to the environmental component, therefore, great attention in the project was paid to the preservation of existing plantings and the organization of landscaping in open areas, as well as the use of environmental materials and technologies in the design of project structures.
The existing small reservoirs on the peninsula have been transformed into a system of canals, along which public spaces will be concentrated, designed to contemplate the unique nature of this place.
Expo 2025 is a completely new format for an international exhibition. Until now, buildings at previous exhibitions have demonstrated advanced technologies in the construction industry. In the Expo project on Lake Baikal, we were not afraid to combine modern approaches and local, traditional, natural, renewable materials. All public buildings, including the multi-storey business center and sports facilities located on the territory, are created from natural materials, mainly wood. The traditional and abundant resources of this region have given rise to a naturalistic approach to design.