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UK Pavilion, Milan Expo

Facts

Location Client Cost Completion Awards
Italy UKTI £6m 2015 5

Project details

The structure is a collaboration between landscape and art that aims to highlight the decline of the world’s bee population and the importance of pollination to the production of food.

Visitors walk through a fruit orchard and enter a natural wildflower meadow. As they near the centre of the meadow, the focal point of the structure comes into view: a golden orb made of fine steel lattice based on the design of a honeycomb.

The Hive, a 3D lattice steel structure sitting on 3m tall columns, pulsates and buzzes with the noise of a real bee colony.

a showcase for the best in UK offsite manufacturing and construction techniques.

Having visited the pavilion there is some real magic and craft in this scheme. It sits calmly in the background until you realise it is actually the showstopper, exactly what a lighting scheme should do.

Massimo Buster Minale

The lighting of this amazing and imaginative pavilion is well integrated with the central ideas behind Wolfgang Butress’ concept…simple and well executed.

Mark Major

Warm, welcoming and stunning. Well integrated lighting scheme revealing magic by night. The environment created here is absolutely beautiful.

Michael Grubb

Brief

  • demonstrate world class innovation and creativity to millions of people worldwide
  • respond to the theme of ‘Feeding the World: Energy for Life’

Results

  • a showcase for the best in UK offsite manufacturing and construction techniques
  • an immersive experience from start to finish
  • awards: 2015 World Interiors News Award, 2015 FX Award (Lighting), 2015 architecture lighting award, 2015 Manchester architects award, 2015 Darc award

Integrated services

architecture, landscape architecture, environmental engineering, lighting