Work is well underway on the design of the New Zealand Pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai. We’re excited to be able to share an animated first look at the design.
The pavilion theme is kaitiakitanga, our care for people and place, and for future generations. The pavilion was inspired by waka taonga, receptacles made by Māori to safe-guard items of considerable intrinsic value. The beautifully carved containers, which included waka huia and papahou, are important cultural symbols for protection and the maintenance of values and practices. They were also gifted to consolidate relationships, create new partnerships and maintain traditions and stories from one generation to the next.
The architectural concept was a way of signifying bringing people together and it reflects the Connecting Minds, Creating the Future theme of Expo 2020. At Expo 2020, we will present our waka taonga, a receptacle for essential aspects of our country’s identity and values. The structure celebrates culture, architecture and engineering and reflects New Zealand's spirit of innovation and high-tech production. New Zealand’s gift to the world is our kaitiakitanga, our unique approach to sustainability, our care for people and place and for future generations.
The New Zealand pavilion is around 2,000 square metres and features an exhibition space, restaurant, design store and hosting facilities.
Expo 2020 opens on 20th October 2020 and runs until 21st April 2021. There are 180 participating nations and Expo 2020 is expected to host around 25 million visitors.
We’re proud to be delivering the pavilion as lead designer in a multi-disciplinary design team consortium with Special Group and MottMacDonald.