Volume 14
Number 13
Oct. 3, 1984
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Model of Expo 86 Pavilion Gets a
Lift
Precision lift: A model of Canadian Pacific's Expo 86
pavilion is raised from the ground at the official ground-breaking ceremony while (from left) Jim
Pattison Expo 86 chairman, Canadian Pacific President W.W. Stinson, B.C. Minister of Tourism Claude Richmond,
and Fred Joplin commissioner of the pavilion look on.
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Specially painted locomotive.
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Vancouver - In a dramatic and creative presentation ceremony, Canadian Pacific became the first
participant in the 1986 world exposition to break ground for its pavilion.
A large model of the pavilion was lifted-out of the ground at a ceremony on the company's Expo 86
site attended by W.W. Stinson president Canadian Pacific Ltd., R.S. Allison president CP Rail, A.F. Joplin
commissioner and director-general of the Canadian Pacific pavilion, provincial and municipal
officials, and officers of the Expo 86 corporation.
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Rainbow War poster to advertise main
presentation.
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The 27,000 square-foot (2,500 square-metre) Canadian Pacific pavilion will occupy a
site between the former CPR roundhouse and the west entrance to the exposition.
"We think we have an outstanding location", said Mr. Stinson. " We are on the main thoroughfare
through the site, next to one of the main gates, midway between the United States and Russian pavilions and close
to an area that will be occupied by many of the major European nations".
Construction started 15 Sep 1984 and the pavilion will be substantially complete by 1 Jul
1985. The remaining time prior to the start of Expo 86 will be devoted to interior finishing and
installation of exhibits.
The pavilion was designed by Waisman Dewar Grout, Vancouver architects and planners who are involved in a wide
range of architectural, planning, and interior design work with particular emphasis on commercial, institutional,
and urban residential projects.
"The pavilion has been designed to respond clearly and simply to the inter-related internal
exhibit spaces", said Project Architect Clive Grout. "The exterior of the building, with its
multi-faceted form and dramatic entrance canopies, will sparkle with reflected light and
colour".
The construction manager is Clearspan Shopland & Co., of Burnaby, B.C. Consulting engineers include Crosier
Kilgour & Partners Ltd., Vancouver (structural); Keen Engineering Ltd., West Vancouver (mechanical); and
W.T. Haggert and Company Limited, Vancouver (electrical). The landscape architect is Vaughan Durante Ltd. of
Vancouver.
Canadian Pacific will be a major participant in Expo 86, which coincides with the 100th anniversary of the start
of regularly-scheduled transcontinental passenger train service in 1886.
"The subject, transportation and communications, and its theme, "world in motion: world in
touch", could not be more appropriate for us because they sum up so much of what our company is all
about", said Mr. Stinson.
The pavilion will include two theatres, each capable of accommodating more than 500 people, and a covered
queuing area. Visitors will be entertained in all three areas with film and other audio-visual
presentations.
The presentations will examine the global problems created by advances in transportation and communications
technology and the challenges that people of different cultures face in learning to understand and live with each
other.
"We intend to dramatize the Expo 86 theme in our pavilion in an exciting and very unusual manner", Mr.
Stinson said.
Canadian Pacific participated in its first world fair in 1893 in Chicago. Since then it has taken part in
expositions in Paris, Dublin, Wembley, Buenos Aires, on two occasions in New York, and most recently at Expo 67
in Montreal.
Expo 86 will run from 2 May 1986 to 13 Oct 1986 and is expected to attract as many as
16 million visitors from around the world.
Click
on the map to enlarge it.
Unveiling of Expo Pavilion Model Will be a Tough Act to
Follow
By Jane Mudry
Eye Level: Gary McArthur (left) of Western Display and
Don Bower of public relations view the finished Canadian Pacific pavilion model shortly before it was delivered
to the construction site for the official presentation.
Vancouver, B.C. - "It was one of the most exciting 25
seconds of my life. The reason was the drama - would the model emerge from the ground as planned", said Gary
McArthur of the sales and shows division of Western Display Company.
Western Display of Richmond, B.C., had the unique task of developing the ground-breaking concept
into reality. That is, of constructing the model of Canadian Pacific's Expo 86 pavilion, and more importantly,
of fine-tuning the lift from out of the ground.
"The actual ceremony took 25 seconds. But it took 95 cubic feet (2.7 cubic metres) of Styrofoam, 10 yards
(9 metres) of silver tape, 650 pounds (294 kilograms) of wood and 12 people 150 man hours of work to build the
model and wooden crate", said Mr. McArthur. "We had a finished product weighing 1,200 pounds (544
kilograms).
The engineering feat yet to be accomplished was opening the crate doors and lifting the pavilion model gently and
evenly to eye-level without upsetting a delicate balance.
"There were two potential problems to overcome. The first was seeing the crate doors opened properly. We
ensured this would happen through the use of a metal T-frame that would open the doors".
"The second was the sensitivity of the lift. How well would the lift work? This we checked through three
test lifts until we were confident of the results. We also had to take into account the dirt hiding the doors of
the crate. Fortunately, everything went like clockwork.
CREATIVE
"It was one of the best projects I've ever worked on", said Mr. McArthur. "It was creative and a
challenge. I found I literally started to shake when the lift started. It's a display project that will be a tough
act to follow".
This CP Rail News article is copyright
1984 by Canadian Pacific Railway and is reprinted here with their permission. All photographs, logos, and
trademarks are the property of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company.
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