UK Pavillion

Expo 2020 Dubai, the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East region, officially opened its doors to visitors on October 1st showcasing architectural wonders and technology innovations from more than 192 countries.

UK’s contribution to Expo 2020 Dubai is the mesmerizing cone-shaped UK Pavilion with a circular façade which was created by world-renowned designer Es Devlin. The 25-meter-high LED façade which is integrated into the wooden sculpture is designed to celebrate global cultural diversity and collaboration. The UK Pavilion uses an advanced AI learning algorithm developed in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture which allows visitors to add their word to a continuously changing Collective Message from humanity to the universe displayed on the LED modules.

PRG was appointed by Pico to deliver the engineering of the 2,000 customized LED tiles through our PRG Projects team, sourcing the bespoke LED technology via PRG China as well as the custom designed immersive audio system, designed by Polyphonia. The technology package was then installed by PRG in Dubai.

“This is one of the most remarkable projects that I have been involved with in my whole career,” says Frederic Opsomer, General Manager PRG Projects, “I have known Es for many years, and we have collaborated on several projects together. She is an amazing Designer, and I must say that this project reinforces her already stellar reputation. This breath-taking design of evermoving poetry, displayed digitally and integrated to illuminate the façade of the UK Pavilion was a beautiful challenge for us at PRG, and we are very proud to collaborate with her on this journey of innovation.”

This message of collaboration and international openness is reflected in the delivery of the project. The UK Pavilion is a truly global collaboration; designed in close partnership with Avantgarde, supported by structural engineer Atelier One and supported and executed by Pico International, delivered by our experts from across the PRG global network and finally executed on site by our dedicated PRG Dubai team.

Gavin Short, Senior Technical Project Manager for PRG in Dubai, said: “The UK Pavilion is an exceptional and unmissable part of the overall Expo experience, located in the Opportunity District and is clearly a space that will inspire visitors to the site.”

Expo 2020 is expected to attract 25 million visits, of which 70% are expected to be international visitors.