I Love Modern Architecture - One Big Jade Rabbit: Shanghai

This building is boderline too outrageous, but it certainly doesn't lack in creativity. The 2010 Macau Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo will take the shape of a jade rabbit lantern and it will change colors to present a mythological world. The design, by Chinese firm Carlos Marreiros Architects, was inspired by rabbit lanterns popular during the Mid-autumn Festival in south China in ancient times, officials said. In Chinese mythology, the jade rabbit is a guide at the front of Nantianmen, the door leading to a fairy land.

The pavilion will be wrapped with a double-layer glass membrane and feature fluorescent screens on its outer walls. It will be eco-friendly with recyclable construction materials as well as solar power panels and rain collection systems. Balloons will serve as the head and tail of the "rabbit" and these can be moved up and down to attract visitors.