(ANSA) - Milan, February 27 - Pioneering materials being used in Milan Expo pavilions include self-cleaning tiles, Corten steel, and wood from sustainably developed forests.
    Such state-of-the-art methods will be showcased at an exhibit titled Building the Expo being held March 18-21 at the Milan-Rho fair as part of Made Expo, a salon dedicated to architecture, design and construction.
    "Each pavilion has used innovative elements combined with others that are more traditional," said Luisa Collina, the curator of the exhibit and Expo delegate at Milan's Polytechnic University.
    "They all shared the need to choose materials that are compatible with the limited time available to complete construction".
    The facade of the Brazilian pavilion, for example, "is in sustainably produced cork from Portugal," said Luisa Basiricò, an engineer with the Mosae firm who carried out the project together with Stefano Pellin and the studio of Brazilian architect Arthur Casas.
    The main entrance to the pavilion uses Corten or weathered steel, a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance if exposed to the weather for several years. Expo is an opportunity "to test new solutions," said the technical director of the Daniel Libeskind architectural studio in Milan, Agostino Ghirardelli.
    "We covered the pavilion of Chinese (real estate developer) Vanke in porcelain-covered stoneware tiles".
    A patented technique by a Sassuolo ceramics firm makes the tiles self-cleaning.
    "Cleanliness is guaranteed and above all, they are environmentally conscious and efficient," Ghirardelli said.