Immersive International and the UK government today reveal details of the spectacular immersive experience at the heart of the UK Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka just weeks before the event opens. The pioneering space does more than showcase British innovation – it invites visitors to immerse themselves, engage with its narrative, and carry its inspiration long after they leave.
Immersive International, the creative production and experiential design studio whose work includes the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the Mobility Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, won His Majesty’s Government’s concept competition in 2022 with an ambitious proposal for a sustainable pavilion that departs from the sculptural installations of previous expos.
The UK Department of Business & Trade (DBT) commissioned Immersive International to create a pavilion experience to help engage Japanese and international audiences to visit, study, and invest in the UK that is not only visually striking but also intellectually and emotionally resonant. The team took on five key roles: Concept Lead, Experiential Masterplanner, Spatial Designer, Visitor Journey Designer, and Content Creator. These roles ensured the space could become a fully integrated, content-led experience.
With a sustainable, demountable building design by ES Global and Woo Architects, Immersive International’s spatial and exhibition design elevates the interior experience as the cornerstone of the pavilion vision, seamlessly integrating space, technology, and narrative to transform visitors from spectators into active participants. When the Pavilion opens on 13 April 2025, it will challenge traditional ideas of exhibitions, proving that the future of innovation isn’t something to be passively understood – it’s something to be lived.
The spatial storytelling in the “Come Build the Future Exhibition” comes to life through state-of-the-art projection mapping, interactive gamification, dynamic lighting, and spatial sound installations. Visitors will embark on a 20-minute immersive journey that follows Kenji, a Japanese father exploring the UK’s creative culture, and his daughter Mei, whose imagination brings PIX, the Pavilion’s playful mascot to life.
Immersive International created PIX as a transformative sidekick, guiding visitors and Mei through a narrative of British and Japanese achievements while subtly revealing the underlying spirit of collaboration that fuels every moment of inspiration. Through them, visitors will see how inspiration and collaboration can turn a simple idea into something groundbreaking.
Immersive International CEO and Chief Creative Officer John Munro said: “Brilliant concepts or singular breakthroughs don’t solely define contemporary and historic British and Japanese inventions, and this Pavilion welcomes visitors to think differently, to discover opportunities in everyday moments, and to catch the slipstream of a good idea.”
The design is a fully inclusive and accessible approach to visitor experiences. True innovation leaves no one behind, and to showcase this, the UK Pavilion is fully accessible, with wheelchair-friendly pathways, audio descriptions, open captions, Braille in both Japanese and English, and dedicated sessions with adjusted sound and lighting.
Every visitor, regardless of ability, will find themselves immersed in the story, with physical interactions deepening their connection to the experience. The narrative is crafted to be accessible to families with children – our future generation of creators – while engaging adults and business leaders with its vision and relevance.
For the six months that the pavilion is open, it will host not only visitors to the “Come Build the Future Exhibition”, the adjacent restaurant and the second-floor bar but also serve as a dynamic event and meeting space for British, Japanese, and global businesses, government representatives and inspirational thought leaders.
Since its conception, Immersive International’s Pavilion concept has always balanced the priorities between visitor experience and functional spaces, as both are important for a successful expo. The pavilion’s final design now includes multiple meeting rooms on the hospitality floor above the exhibition, where businesses can meet, interact, and be inspired by some of the most innovative and accomplished minds participating in the UK government’s extensive 6-month events program.
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