The Shanghai World Expo was really "people mountain people sea." The average number of visitors per day was 428,000 in the three days I went. (The record so far is 568,300 on August 21st.) There were long lines in front of most pavilions. It took 2 hours to get in the China Pavilion with a reservation ticket, 3 hours to the UK Pavilion, 4 to the US Pavilion, and 6 to get in the $200 million Saudi Arabia Pavilion and see the immersive 3D movie multi-projected on a 1,600 square-meter screen.
Interestingly, some architects had anticipated the situation and tried to provide solutions for the long waiting time. One approach is to open up the ground floor, making it into some sort of public relax space. Visitors can wait in the shaded area before going up to the exhibitions, or just wander in and out without waiting in line.
Another approach is to design a continuous linear route that allows the crowd to move constantly. This linearity is expressed architecturally as an elevated street (by Dutchman John Körmeling) or a ramping circular loop (by BIG).
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