2021 Best Pavilions. UAE Pavilion by Santiago Calatrava @ Expo 2020 Dubai – Courtesy of Santiago Calatrava.
Best of 2021 – We have rounded up 2021 best pavilions, including a lush tropical oasis powered by robots in the Emirati desert, the replica of an ancient rural settlement in Uzbekistan and a full-scale section of a solid wood cohousing project in Norway.
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TERRA – SUSTAINABILITY PAVILION by Grimshaw Architects @ Expo 2020 Dubai – Photo by Dany Eid/Expo 2020 Dubai.
Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion by Grimshaw Architects at Expo 2020 Dubai features a forest of giant solar panel-clad e-trees following the sun like sunflowers, a thriving garden challenging desert environment and underground exhibition spaces thermally isolated with an intelligent earth roof system. Terra captures and generates its own energy from sunlight and fresh water from humid air. Read more…
TERRA – SUSTAINABILITY PAVILION by Grimshaw Architects @ Expo 2020 Dubai – Photo by Phil Handforth.
Japanese architect Kengo Kuma wrapped the CLT Pavilion for events and performances with cross-laminated wooden fins/leaves filtering light like trees in a forest in the Tokyo Olympic Village in the Harumi artificial island. After the Games, the building was dismantled to be rebuilt in the Hiruzen National Park in Maniwa, Japan. Read more…
CLT Park Harumi pavilion by Kengo Kuma and Associates – ©Kawasumi・Kobayashi Kenji Photograph Office, courtesy of KKAA.
Gomez Platero designed the World Memorial to the Pandemic on the coastline of Montevideo, Uruguay, to build a collective consciousness reminding us that humankind is not the center of the ecosystem. The pavilion consists of a massive floating circular structure that will serve as an affecting sensory experience bridging the gap between the urban and natural worlds, thus creating an ideal environment for introspection. Read more…
‘World Memorial to the Pandemic’ by Gomez Platero, Uruguay – © Gomez Platero.
The Singapore Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai features a lush tropical urban landscape and innovative technologies, reflecting the city-state’s vision of becoming a City in Nature. WOHA Architects conceived the biophilic architecture as a green, living, self-sufficient ecosystem. “We brought an oasis of lush trees, verdant shrubs and vibrant orchids to the desert.” The studio told Archipanic. Read more…
Singapore Pavilion @ Expo 2020 Dubai – © Singapore Pavilion.
For the What We Share exhibition, Helen & Hard transformed the Nordic Pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale into a full-scale section of a solid wood cohousing project in Norway, designed in close collaboration with a group of residents. “We want to explore the potential and demonstrate how the interplay between inhabitants and agencies involved can create an adaptable architecture.” The creative directors of Helen & Hard told Archipanic. Read more…
WHAT WE SHARE. Nordic Pavilion @ Venice Biennale 2021 – Photo by DSL Studio, © National Museum of Norway.
Santiago Calatrava’s United Arab Emirates Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai features a movable roof and clean, futuristic spaces reflecting the country’s daring spirit. Inspired by the grace and force of the falcon, the UAE’s national bird, the pure-white architecture is crowned by a movable roof composed of 28 locally produced carbon fiber’ wings’ which can fully open within three minutes. Read more…
United Arab Emirates Pavilion by Santiago Calatrava @ Expo 2020 Dubai – Photo: courtesy of Santiago Calatrava.
Inspired by vessels’ sails, the platform, American designer Ini Archibong has created the Pavilion of the African Diaspora at London Design Biennale. The setting doubled as a stage for talks, events and performances from Africans and their descendants who have settled away from the continent due to migration or slavery. Read more about London Design Bienniale…
Pavilion of the African Diaspora by Ini Archibong – Photo by Ed Reed, courtesy of London Design Biennale.
Uzbekistan debuted at Venice Architecture Biennale, presenting an abstract 1:1 replica of a Mahalla, an endangered housing centred on communal or family ties in central Asia and the Arab world. The exhibition highlighted an ancient and contemporary alternative way of living together, “at a time the ecosystem of the anonymous megacity is literally reaching its limits,” curators told Archipanic. Read more…
‘Mahalla, Urban Rural Living’ Uzbekistan Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2021 – All photos by ©Gerda Studio.
