ABSTRACT
It harnessed a collective sense of hardship, lack of opportunity and desire for change and sought to awaken the senses, spontaneous action and a sense of Britain and self as innovative and productive. The scripted story was laid down over the South Bank site in two main themes to reflect the division of the site by a railway bridge; the Land of Britain on one side and the People of Britain on the other. Unlike the formal architecture and rigid layout of previous international exhibitions, the approach here, again in part necessitated by the site, would be informal; an irregular pattern and sequence of spaces would be prioritised. Some 50 architectural practices were appointed to projects across the site and, following this, a diverse array of artists and designers from a range of disciplinary backgrounds were appointed to develop the exhibitions, an indication of the newness of the discipline of exhibition making and lack of experienced exhibition designers..
