The UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai will be produced by the London and Dubai based global brand experience agency Avantgarde. The Department for International Trade will lead the UK government’s presence with cross-government support.

Es Devlin OBE is known for creating stunning large-scale performative sculptures that fuse technology and poetry, including the interactive Fifth Lion sculpture installed in Trafalgar Square. Her dramatic design for the UK Pavilion is an illuminated sculptural message to which each of the Expos anticipated visitors will be invited to contribute.

Explaining her inspiration for the project and what she hopes it will achieve, Es Devlin OBE said: “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.

“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 A.I. technologies and poetry while transcending national identities.”

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox MP said: “The quality of design proposals we received for the UK Pavilion were testament to the UK’s world leading creative talent and I’m confident that Es Devlin OBE and the team will help us take advantage of this unique opportunity to showcase the very best of British to a truly global audience.

“Over six months, my international economic department will help connect with millions of Expo 2020 visitors who will make up the expected 25 million visits – that’s millions of buyers for our products, partners for our firms, tourists for our cities and students for our universities.

“This announcement follows a competitive tender process which saw a number of leading designers and firms form consortia to bid for the multi-million-pound contract, and we are grateful for their submissions.”

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

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

“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’.

“We look forward to seeing more compelling pavilion designs and themes revealed by other participating nations as we continue our countdown to Expo 2020.”

-Ends-

About Expo 2020 Dubai

Expo 2020 Dubai is guided by the belief that innovation and progress are the result of people and ideas combining in new ways. For six months from 20 October, 2020, Expo aims to bring together 180 countries and millions of people to celebrate human ingenuity: ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.

  • During the six months from 20 October, 2020 to 10 April, 2021, we expect millions of people to visit Expo
  • About 70 per cent of all visitors are anticipated to come from outside the UAE – the largest proportion of international visitors in Expo history
  • We aim to create and deliver an inclusive and global Expo with more than 200 participants, including nations, multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions
  • Expo 2020 also has an ambitious volunteer programme, which aims to include more than 30,000 volunteers from a wide range of ages, nationalities, cultures and backgrounds
  • The Expo site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area. It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
  • Expo 2020 Dubai is the first World Expo to take place in the MEASA (Middle East, Africa and South Asia) region

Visit: www.expo2020dubai.com 

Follow: Twitter: @expo2020dubai | Facebook: @Expo2020Dubai | Instagram: expo2020dubai

Further information:

The Department for International Trade (DIT) secures UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment, and championing free trade. We are an international economic department, responsible for: 

  • Bringing together policy, promotion and financial expertise to break down barriers to trade and investment, and help businesses succeed
  • Delivering a new trade policy framework for the UK as we leave the EU
  • Promoting British trade and investment across the world
  • Building the global appetite for British goods and services

Es Devlin OBE

Artist and Designer

Award-winning artist and designer Es Devlin is known worldwide for her sculptural installations which are often created as environments for concerts, opera, dance and theatre. Her luminous fluorescent red Fifth Lion sculpture roared A.I. generated collective poetry to crowds in Trafalgar Square during London Design Festival last week. The Singing Tree, her choral collective carol installation at the V&A, fused machine-learning technology with sound and light, and was viewed by over ten million visitors during Christmas 2017. Her Mirrormaze generated queues around the block in Peckham in 2016

The visionary designer collaborated with theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli on an interpretation of The Order of Time read by Benedict Cumberbatch at the legendary rooftop art space, BOLD Tendencies in Peckham in September 2018 and has conceived touring stage sculptures for Beyonce, Kanye West, U2, Adele, The Royal Opera House and The National Theatre as well as designing the London Olympic Closing Ceremony.

Her practice was the subject of a major 2017 Netflix documentary: Abstract: The Art of Design, and she is the winner of numerous awards including three Olivier Awards, the 2017 London Design Medal, a UAL fellowship and an OBE.

Studio Es Devlin

Studio Es Devlin is a London-based predominantly female design practice that works closely with artist and designer Es Devlin to develop and produce artworks, installations and touring stage sculptures for opera, dance, concerts and theatre. The majority of the team trained as architects and many have worked in other fields including music, film, fashion, interiors and coding. Members of the studio regularly give talks and work as tutors for a number of educational institutions including UCL and the RCA. The studio also hosts educational workshops and events in order to expose young people to the relevance of the creative arts for a contemporary, global Britain.

Avantgarde

The global brand experience agency Avantgarde has been commissioned as the general design contractor by the Department of International Trade. The teams at Avantgarde will be responsible for the coordination, and overall creative production across interactive, exhibition and digital experiences, demonstrating their multidisciplinary capabilities.

Avantgarde is a global brand experience agency which advises brands strategically with 500 experts in ten countries. Avantgarde played a pivotal role in Astana EXPO 2017, turning the Astana Contemporary Art Centre and the Energy Best Practices Area into engaging and innovative experiences. The agency is looking forward in bringing all its interdisciplinary expertise and EXPO experience together to deliver a powerful statement for the UK.

The Team:

Keith Morgan MCIAT | MAPM

Executive Architect, Managing Director at Veretec

Keith is the Managing Director of Veretec and is passionate about the project delivery of exceptional quality design buildings in a variety of building types in both the UK and internationally. He has led Veretec to win the AJ100 Executive Architect of the Year award for two consecutive years in 2016 and 2017. His understanding and technical flair, together with a strongly focused collaborative approach, has ensured that Keith has developed excellent relationships in the industry, and worked effectively with a wide range of well-known architects and designers.

Keith’s successful track record of adding value and delivering complex projects incorporates innovative solutions for unique projects. His experience with award winning projects includes three Stirling Prize profiled projects: 2014 Stirling Finalist: O’Donnell+Tuomey: LSE Saw Swee Hock Student Centre; 2011 Stirling Finalist: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris: Angel Building; 2011 Stirling Shortlist: Hopkins: Arc Bury St Edmunds.

Patrick Bellew RDI | FREng | CEng | FCIBSE | FEI | HonFRIBA | FRSA

Environmental Engineer, Director at Atelier Ten

Patrick is the founding director of Atelier Ten, he is one of the UK’s Royal Designers and is a Chartered Building Services Engineer with more than thirty years’ experience in the design of high performance buildings and systems. With extensive experience in the integration of environmental and building systems with architecture, Patrick has particular expertise in thermal mass energy storage technologies, environmental building design and high efficiency building conditioning systems. Atelier Ten have pioneered numerous innovations in the built environment and have 10 offices worldwide, all focused on the delivery of high-performance buildings, including two previous UK Pavilions, by Thomas Heatherwick for 2010 Shanghai World Expo, and by Asif Kahn for 2017 Astana Expo. Patrick taught a core environmental design course on the M.Arch program at the Yale University School of Architecture from 2000 - 2008 and has led four Advanced Design Studios as the Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor between 2010 - 2017. Patrick was one of the original group who founded the UK-Green Building Council in 2006 and was a member of the Executive Board from 2006 - 2010 when the organisation became a registered charity. Between 2010 to 2017, he served on the Trustee Board.

Professor Neil Thomas MBE | RDI | FRSA |  HonFRIBA |  CEng |  FIStructE

Structural Engineer, Director at Atelier One

Neil Thomas is the Founder & Director of Atelier One, which has been described as ‘the most innovative Engineering Practice in the UK’. Atelier One has gained an international reputation as a Structural Engineering Practice specializing in challenging projects. Collaborations with Architects, Artists, and Designers have resulted in many interesting built projects such as Gardens by the Bay with Grant Associates & Wilkinson Eyre, London 2012 & Sochi 2014 Olympics Opening Ceremonies and the Cloud Gate with Anish Kapoor.

Neil holds a number of high profile posts in the UK & US educational service, most recently being a Visiting Professor to Yale and MIT. In 2014 Neil was elected Royal Designer for Industry (RDI), an Honorary RIBA Fellowship for both the excellence and the inventiveness of his contribution to Architecture over the past 25 years and in 2015 was awarded Fellow of the Institute of Structural Engineers. In 2016 Neil was honoured with an MBE on the Queen’s 90th Birthday for contributions to Architecture, Design and Engineering.

 UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai: shortlisted design entries (in alphabetical order)

  • BDP
  • Mangera Yvars Architects
  • Paul Cocksedge Studio
  • Steven Chilton Architects
  • Tonkin Liu

 Sponsorship opportunities

 To find out more on partnership and sponsorship opportunities for the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, please contact Expo2020@trade.gov.uk 

Funding

The seven co-funding Whitehall Departments:

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy; Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for International Trade; Department for International Development; Department for Transport; and Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Contact

Contact the DIT
Media Team on
020 7215 2000
email newsdesk@trade.gov.uk 
Follow us:
@tradegovuk
gov.uk/dit

For media enquiries, please contact:

Rania Moussly | Nora Feidi

ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller

rania.moussly@bm.com 
nora.feidi@bm.com 
+971 50 5670377
+971 50 1441243


© Press Release 2018

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