Es Devlin wins competition for UK Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020
London-based designer Es Devlin has just been announced as the winner of the large-scale competition for the design of the UK pavilion at the upcoming World Expo, set to take place in 2020 in Dubai. The awardwinning creative, who has also been behind world class events such as the London Olympics closing ceremony and recently staged a poetry-spouting neon lion in Trafalgar Square, has created a structure centred on British expertise in artificial intelligence and space, entitled ‘The Poem Pavilion'.
Few commissions are more prestigious than the those where a designer is called to represent the creativeness and business sense of a whole nation; the World Expos have been a playground for architectural experimentation ever since their introduction in the 19th century. More recently, Thomas Heatherwick's ‘Seed Cathedral' in Shanghai and Asif Khan's 2017 pavilion in Astana are key examples of temporary structures with a permanent place in the collective cultural memory.
Working with her signature combination of light and technology, the artist conceived the pavilion as a device that will be set up to transmit a ‘message to space’. Each of the Expo’s anticipated 25 million visitors will be invited to contribute to the message, making this a truly collective effort.
‘The idea draws directly on one of Stephen Hawking’s final projects, “Breakthrough Message”, a global competition that Hawking and his colleagues conceived in 2015 inviting people worldwide to consider what message we would communicate to express ourselves as a planet, should we one day encounter other advanced civilisations in space', says Devlin. ‘What if the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 becomes a place where visitors from all over the world take part in a collective global project that showcases British expertise in A.I. technologies and poetry while transcending national identities?'
Devlin will work with brand experience agency Avantgarde, who will take on the project's production. Structural engineers Atelier One and award-winning sustainability engineers Atelier Ten will also be involved in bringing this ambitious design to life.
The design is inspired by British expertise in artificial intelligence and space
INFORMATION
For more information visit the website of Es Devlin
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
The moments fashion met art at the 60th Venice Biennale
The best fashion moments at the 2024 Venice Biennale, with happenings from Dior, Golden Goose, Balenciaga, Burberry and more
By Jack Moss Published
-
Crispin at Studio Voltaire, in Clapham, is a feast for all the senses
New restaurant Crispin at Studio Voltaire is the latest opening from the brains behind Bistro Freddie and Bar Crispin, with interiors by Jermaine Gallagher
By Billie Brand Published
-
Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe goes up for sale in landmark Christie’s auction
The proceeds of ’Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection’, running this June, will go to the charitable causes she championed during her lifetime
By Jack Moss Published
-
Modernist architecture: inspiration from across the globe
Modernist architecture has had a tremendous influence on today’s built environment, making these midcentury marvels some of the most closely studied 20th-century buildings; check back soon for new additions to our list
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Orchid Pavilion channels Japanese philosophy for blossoming flowers in Puerto Escondido
Orchid Pavilion by CCA Centro de Colaboración Arquitectónica provides fitting shelter for flower conservation in Mexico's Casa Wabi
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Serpentine Pavilion 2024 to be designed by Mass Studies
Minsuk Cho and Mass Studies will design the Serpentine Pavilion 2024 in London, it has been announced today
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Art Jameel pavilion in Dubai is a dome to fight climate doom
Art Jameel pavilion by Lebanese practice theOtherDada flags sustainability in Dubai, and opened to coincide with COP 28
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah Published
-
Installation SUPER LIMBO activates the empty building site of Sharjah Mall
SUPER LIMBO installation by Limbo Accra and Ivorian textile brand Super Yaya uses weaving methods to activate the paused building site of Sharjah Mall during Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2023
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah Published
-
MPavilion 10 by Tadao Ando unveiled in Melbourne
MPavilion 10 by Tadao Ando opens to the public in Melbourne, marking the tenth edition of the Australian cultural attraction
By Elias Redstone Published
-
Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2023 celebrates the ‘beauty of impermanence’
The Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2023, curated by Tosin Oshinowo, focuses on beauty, impermanence and adaptability; and it has just launched in the UAE
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
Minimalist architecture: homes that inspire calm
These examples of minimalist architecture place life in the foreground – clutter is demoted; joy promoted
By Ellie Stathaki Published