Swiss Pavilion: EXPO 2020 Dubai

At the World Exhibition on Dubai 2020, Switzerland took the opportunity to present itself and its strengths as sensory spatial experience. The Swiss pavilion bore the title “Reflections” – a theme that ran as a guiding thread throughout the entire visitor experience divided into three acts. Each act presented its own sensory and interactive experience with a particular colour world, atmosphere and symbolism.

At the start, Switzerland rolled out the red carpet for its visitors, an area of around 700 square metres in original Swiss red that was noticeable not only on the floor. It was reflected, together with the waiting guests, on a spectacular mirror façade of the cubical building.

In the second act, a unique natural phenomenon from the Swiss mountains was brought to the desert of Dubai: a sea of fog. Stepping through it started off a walk up to the Alpine panorama and led from there to urban Switzerland with its sustainable innovations. The installation produced real fog according to the same physical principle as in nature. This also evoked the same emotions and sensory perceptions as fog in the mountains. It felt clammy and damp on the skin and the wisps created a mystical, eerie and fairytale-like atmosphere.

The third act showed the urban side of Switzerland and presented it as one of the most innovative countries in the world. The visitors were surprised here by a final sensory experience: the waterdrop ballet. Right below the sea of fog, drops of water fell into ten containers that symbolised the “ingredients” of Swiss innovation competence.

The pavilion was among the most frequently mentioned country presences at Expo and sparked a lot of positive resonance in the press and on social media.