28 April 2010: Expo '67

In April 1967 the Universal and International Exposition on ‘ Man and his World’  – Expo ’67 for short  – opened in Montréal, Canada, to coincide with the one hundredth anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. In March 1965 Sir Basil Spence was announced as the designer of the British Pavilion for the event, as well as a general adviser on all visual aspects of the British participation.

Spence’s design took the form of a massive white pavilion made up of two cantilevered halls and a monumental 200ft tower set out on a stepped concourse. The tower acted as the entrance to the pavilion and was topped off with a 3D sculpture based on the Union Jack designed by Frederic Henri Kay Henrion. Spence himself described his pavilion as “craggy, tough and uncompromising.”

The exhibitions inside were split into five sections tracing the history of Britain with a final section looking to its future. A sculpture by Henry Moore was located in a pool outside the pavilion.

The British Pavilion was hailed as one of the most popular at the event, receiving over 5 million visitors before the Expo ended in October of the same year.

The Sir Basil Spence Archive was presented to RCAHMS by the Spence family in 2003. The Archive comprises nearly 40,000 drawings, photographs, manuscripts and news cuttings, and is available  for public study and enjoyment through our searchable online database, Canmore.