Siemens at world’s fairs. A pictorial journey through … at world’s fairs. A pictorial journey...
Transcript of Siemens at world’s fairs. A pictorial journey through … at world’s fairs. A pictorial journey...
© Siemens Historical Institute, 2015 Seite 1/8
Munich April 29, 2015
Siemens at world’s fairs.A pictorial journey through time.
The history of the world’s fairs mirrors the development of industrial-technological
civilization. As a global powerhouse in electrical engineering, Siemens has been
participating regularly in these exhibitions of superlatives ever since 1851. To mark
Expo 2015 in Milan, we’ve put together information and pictures on Siemens’ most
important world’s fair exhibits.
A view into the Crystal Palace,
London 1851
London 1851 – On board right from the start
The first world’s fair takes place in London’s Hyde Park from
May through October 1851. At the Crystal Palace, which is built
specifically to house The Great Exhibition, more than 17,000 exhi-
bitors – half of whom are from the British Empire – display technical
inventions, new types of machines, exemplary handcrafted goods
and items from everyday life. The individual exhibits are arranged
by company. Under the umbrella of the Deutscher Zollverein
(German Customs Union), the German telegraph company
known as Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske show-
cases a representative cross-section of its products, including
several electric telegraph devices and a signaling system for
railway crossings.
The Berlin-based company’s main local representative is Carl von
Siemens. The 22-year-old businessman, a younger brother of the
company’s founder, speaks with a great number of people at the
fair and makes contact with potential customers from Southern
Europe and the U.S. – but without any tangible success. Neverthe-
less, participation in The Great Exhibition is worthwhile: Siemens
wins a Council Medal for its exhibit of the pointer telegraph. This
award plays a key role in enabling the young company to gain an
international reputation. Siemens is also represented at the next
two world’s fairs, which are held in Paris (1855) and London (1862).
Siemens AG
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Prussia’s exhibit, 1867
Paris 1867 – Spotlight on one of the world’s first dynamos
Exhibits at the Exposition universelle de Paris are organized for
the first time by product group and country. A specially constructed
building on the Champ de Mars provides 150,000 square meters of
exhibition space. However, due to the structure’s narrow, rigid floor
plan, many countries set up smaller pavilions of their own on the
former parade grounds. As a result, the 1867 fair is the first to
have its own exhibition park. As part of the Kingdom of Prussia’s
exhibition, Siemens not only displays telegraph devices and the
related cables and testing equipment; it also exhibits one of its
first dynamo-electric machines. The dynamo-electric principle,
which Werner von Siemens has discovered only the previous year,
provides the basis for power engineering. For his dynamo exhibit,
von Siemens is made a member of France’s Légion d’Honneur.
Certificate honoring Werner von
Siemens’ for serving as Vice President
of Group XIV, 1873
Vienna 1873 – Telegraph exhibits out of competition
The 1873 world’s fair is hosted in Vienna to mark the 25th anniver-
sary of the coronation of Emperor Franz Joseph. It is the first time
that an international industrial exposition has been held outside the
two world-leading countries of England and France. Compared to
earlier world’s fairs, German companies are much more active at
this Weltausstellung, which takes place in Vienna’s Prater Park.
As one of the “most outstanding” companies in the “field of telegra-
phy” – as the official exhibition report notes – Siemens showcases
a large number of new inventions. Since Werner von Siemens
serves on the jury for Group 14, the presentation of Siemens &
Halske’s telegraphs is out of competition. The company is also
represented by test and measurement instruments and by rail
signaling and safety systems. In addition, the exposition building
referred to as the Machine Hall features electric lighting powered by
a steam-driven electric dynamo from Siemens.
Siemens AG
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One-thousand horsepower internal
pole generator for lighting the
exhibition halls, 1893
Chicago 1892 – Presentation of one of the first alternating-current rail engines
The World’s Columbian Exhibition, which is held in Chicago’s
Jackson Park on the shores of Lake Michigan in 1893, commemo-
rates Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America and provides
visitors with an insight into the latest technical innovations. Over an
area of nearly 300 hectares, 70,000 exhibitors – including Siemens
& Halske – showcase their products. Supported by Chicago-based
Siemens & Halske Electric Company of America, which has been
founded only a few months earlier, the German electrical engineer-
ing company displays dynamo-electric machines and electric mo-
tors, communications and high-voltage cables, and rail signaling
and safety equipment. Siemens’ exhibit of an electric streetcar
powered by alternating current attracts special attention.
Alternating-current generator, 1900
Department for telephone equipment,
1900
Paris 1900 – A major energy supplier to the world’s fair
Not only is the amount of exhibition space growing from one world’s
fair to the next; the number of exhibits, exhibitors and guests from
around the globe is also increasing. With well over 50 million
visitors, the Exposition universelle et internationale de Paris 1900
sets a new attendance record. The slogan for the mega event is
Le bilan d’un siècle. As in Chicago in 1893, Germany has its own
pavilion, which features a historicist design. Numerous German
companies participate in building and equipping the Deutsches
Haus. Siemens & Halske installs the building’s electrical lighting
system free of charge. The centerpiece of the company’s exhibit
is a 2,200-volt alternating-current generator. As tall as a house,
the generator is installed in the large hall dedicated to mechanical
and electrical engineering. This generator, which is coupled with
a Borsig steam engine, is part of a power plant that supplies the
fairgrounds’ lamps and machines with electricity.
Supported by its subsidiaries in Vienna, St. Petersburg and London,
Siemens also exhibits equipment for “putting electricity to use”.
In the Court of Honor, the electrical engineering company displays
a large part of its low- and high-voltage product portfolio, which is
organized into different departments. The participating Siemens
companies are honored for their commitment to the “Exposition
universelle” with numerous awards in a variety of categories.
Siemens AG
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Electro-chemical work station in the
chemicals department, 1904
St. Louis – Precision engineering from Siemens for theDeutsche Unterrichts-Ausstellung
As a form of mass communication, the world’s fair loses none of its
popularity at the beginning of the 20th century. With the promotional
effect in view, Siemens also takes part in the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition of 1904. Siemens’ efforts in St. Louis focus primarily
on participation in the Deutsche Unterrichts-Ausstellung, a German
exhibit designed to provide a comprehensive overview of “all types
of instruction.” In keeping with this theme, exhibitors are recruited
from schools, research and educational institutions, science and
industry. In the chemical and medical area, Siemens & Halske
showcases an extensive array of instruments and laboratory
devices as well as X-ray equipment and electric medical devices.
The official exposition report explicitly praises Siemens’ “outstand-
ing” X-ray machine exhibit, an unparalleled attraction. The company
also takes part in a presentation of scientific instruments, which is
held in the Palace of Electricity. Two employees demonstrate
Siemens products on site. Such product demonstrations provide
an ideal opportunity to cultivate relationships with current and
potential customers from North America.
Soviet (left) and German pavilions (right),
1937
Paris 1937 – Grand Prix for electrical installationsin the German pavilion
The Exposition internationale des arts et techniques dans la vie
modern ‒ the last world’s fair to be held in Paris ‒ is an expression
of the growing power of dictatorships in Europe. The positioning of
the Nazi and Soviet pavilions directly opposite one another on the
banks of the Seine, the most prominent site on the exposition
grounds, symbolizes the competition between the two ideological
systems. Siemens Bauunion is commissioned by the Reichsbau-
direktion (German Directorate of Construction) to serve as general
contractor for the German pavilion’s shell construction. Starting in
the fall of 1936, the Siemens subsidiary erects a 52-meter-high
tower and 140-meter-long exhibition hall within only six months.
Berlin architect Albert Speer provides the designs for the monumen-
tal structure.
Siemens AG
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Teleprinter, 1937
Siemens also helps equip the German pavilion. For example,
Siemens-Schuckertwerke is responsible for all of the building’s
electrical installations, including its extensive interior and exterior
illumination. The electricity required is provided by Paris’s municipal
utility. For these achievements, the company is awarded a Grand
Prix. Siemens & Halske also receives several other awards for,
among other things, a teleprinter and a variety of film and radio
devices.
Locomotive E 10 110, 1958
Brussels 1958 – First world’s fair after World War II
The next world’s fair is held in Belgium, 13 years after the end of
World War II. Expo 58, in which more than 4,500 exhibitors from
51 nations take part, opens in Brussels on April 17. The fair’s
motto is “Technology in the Service of Humanity. Human Progress
through Technical Progress”. Although the experience of the war
has generally dampened enthusiasm for technology, the exhibitors
remain euphoric about technological progress. The symbol of the
exposition is the so-called Atomium, which highlights the peaceful
use of nuclear power. Siemens is represented by a smaller portion
of its portfolio than at previous world’s fairs. An electric locomotive
equipped by Siemens-Schukertwerke for deployment in regional
transportation is included in a group exhibit of railway technology.
Household appliances, a television set, an electron microscope and
a betatron accelerator as well as electro-medical devices are also
showcased.
In the following years, the time between world’s fairs increases con-
siderably, while the focus is more and more on the questions and
challenges posed by the future.
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Peter von Siemens (third from right) and
German President Heinrich Lübke (third
from left) in front of the German pavilion,
1967
Montreal 1967 – Peter von Siemens is the world’s fair’sGerman General Commissioner
The motto of Montreal’s Expo 67 is “Man and his World ‒ Progress
and the Future”. In 1964, three years before the fair opens,
German Economics Minister Kurt Schmucker appoints Peter von
Siemens, the Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of
Siemens-Schuckertwerke AG, to serve as the exposition’s German
General Commissioner. In this capacity, the great-grandson of the
company’s founder liaises between German exhibitors and the fair’s
management. As commissioner and representative of the German
government, von Siemens is often on-site during the world’s fair.
The company also helps supply infrastructure for the exposition
grounds. For example, the installation and lighting systems in the
German pavilion as well as the floodlighting in the exposition
stadium come from Siemens. All orders are implemented in close
cooperation with Siemens Canada Ltd.
Karl-Heinz Stockhausen at the SITRAL
audio mixing and control console, 1970
Osaka 1970 – Extraordinary acoustic effects thanks to Siemens
For the first world’s fair to be held Asia, Siemens supplies a mam-
moth electro-acoustic system. More than 800 low-, middle- and
high-tone systems are installed on the grounds of the German
pavilion. These systems ‒ most of which are linked to loudspeaker
combinations ‒ transmit voice communications and music both in
the exhibition rooms and throughout the surrounding outdoor area.
The fair’s centerpiece is a towering domed building that is used
for presentations and musical events. Based on the ideas of avant-
garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, this spherical auditorium,
which has a diameter of about 30 meters, is equipped with 50 spe-
cially developed loudspeaker combinations. In recognition of its
contribution to the production of the first 3D musical performance,
the Siemens factory in Karlsruhe, Germany, is awarded a certificate
of honor.
Siemens AG
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Exterior of the Siemens pavilion, 1992
Seville 1992 – First separate Siemens pavilion
Not only countries but also international organizations and com-
panies traditionally have pavilions at world’s fairs. Siemens has its
own separate pavilion for the first time in its nearly 150-year history
at the Seville world’s fair in 1992. The company also supplies the
fair’s digital ISDN communications system and participates in
Cartuja '93, a project to further develop Andalusia’s economy.
“Evolution of Networks” is the leitmotiv for all of Siemens’ activities
at the EXPO. The company’s exhibits are extremely popular –
more than half-a-million people visit the Siemens pavilion.
Pavilion at EXPO 2000, 2000
Hannover 2000 – World partner, technology partnerand exhibitor
The first world’s fair to be held in Germany takes place in Hannover
from June 1 to October 31, 2000. One hundred and fifty-five coun-
tries and 27 international organizations participate in EXPO 2000.
With the motto “We make knowledge work for you”, Siemens show-
cases its activities as a knowledge-based company whose global
workforce is developing the innovative solutions needed to meet
the challenges of the 21st century. As the exclusive world partner
for information technology, Siemens supplies much of the fair’s IT
infrastructure. The company also makes a major contribution to the
creation of The 21st Century, a theme park for which a multi-media
vision of daily life in Shanghai has been developed in collaboration
with urban planners, architects and filmmakers from the Chinese
megacity. A top fair attraction, the theme park is visited by roughly
5.3 million people.
Siemens AG
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China Pavilion, 2010
Shanghai 2010 – Siemens technology for thefirst green world’s fair
The motto of the Shanghai world’s fair is “Better City, Better Life”.
On opening day alone, 100,000 visitors stream onto the more than
five-kilometer-square fairgrounds, which are situated on the banks
of the Huangpu River. The Expo symbol and one of Siemens’ larg-
est projects at the fair is the China Pavilion. Equipped with energy-
saving building technologies and illuminated by thousands of
OSRAM light-emitting diodes, the nearly 70-meter-high structure
towers against the night sky. Siemens installs 150,000 LEDs on
the fairgrounds ‒ light sources that consume considerably less
electricity than conventional incandescent lamps. But building and
lighting systems are only two of the areas in which Siemens
delivers sustainable products and solutions for the metropolis of
20 million people. As a global partner to the Shanghai fair, the
company also participates in more than 40 projects ‒ landing orders
with a total value of around €1 billion..
For further information on Siemens history see
www.siemens.com/history