Award-winning British artist and stage designer Es Devlin has been selected to design the UK Pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020, which will be visited by an estimated 25 million people in the 6 months from October 2020 to April 2021. 

Devlin's sculptural installation, named as Poem Pavilion, will highlight UK expertise in artificial intelligence and the space sector. The installation will be produced by the London and Dubai based global brand experience agency Avantgarde. Es Devlin will be the first female designer selected to design the UK Pavilion since its inauguration and she will direct the creative team on artificial intelligence and space technology. 

The pavilion will transfer a global message onto its front facade to which each of the Expo’s anticipated 25 million visitors will be invited to contribute. The structure will reach at 20 meters high with glowing LED façade that will beam out a collective AI- generated global message.

"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," said Es Devlin.

"What if the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 became a place where visitors from all over the world chose to take part in a collective global project that showcases British expertise in AI technologies and poetry while transcending national identities," she added.

The Dubai Expo 2020's theme is "Connecting minds, creating the future". UK will be one of 180 nations participating, alongside non-government organisations and sponsors. The site will be split into 3 districts: opportunity, mobility, sustainability.

Devlin and Avantgarde will join forces with Manchester-based structural engineers Atelier One and sustainability experts Atelier Ten. 

"At Expo 2020 Dubai, our focus on empowering individuals and communities to create opportunities that help shape a better future drives everything we do," said Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director, Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau.

"The UK Pavilion will be an intriguing platform for people to learn, have fun and work together to discover innovations and explore new frontiers in areas including space and Artificial Intelligence - echoing Expo 2020’s theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’."

Es Devlin's proposal was selected from the shortlisted design entries, including BDP, Mangera Yvars Architects, Paul Cocksedge Studio, Steven Chilton Architects and Tonkin Liu.

All images courtesy of Es Devlin

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