Czech Pavilion at EXPO 2025

Although the project did not win the architectural competition, the pavilion's strengths are so interesting that they deserve attention. The architectural and design office LOXIA, together with the creatives LOOSERS, XLAB, and SKULL studio, designed a pavilion that is a symbiosis of architecture, nature, and interactive technologies. It creates an emotional connection between the visitor and the intelligent building.

The emotions are intensified by the inspiring journey through the pavilion – the Czech soul and landscape, in which the Multiverse plays a significant role – a hybrid form of the pavilion that serves as a platform merging physical exhibitions with augmented and virtual reality. Visitors will thus encounter not only Czech culture and society among themselves but also with AI avatars.

"The connection creates strong ties. Stronger and more resilient solutions. Partnerships and new experiences. Connection is the principle through which we will show what we Czechs can do and achieve and what kind of future we can co-create. The entire design of the pavilion, including the use of technologies, has been conceived as a demonstration of 'experiential design'. The whole experience is subordinate to the user's perception during their movement through the space; interactive and technological elements are not perceived as a supplement or something foreign, but are an integral part of the primary sensory intention. The connection of the tangible with the intangible using augmented reality. The connection of the present with the future through the involvement of artificial intelligence."

PROGRAM OF THE PAVILION

In the exhibitions with a fully packed installation program, a presentation of a sovereign and creative Czech Republic is expected - its art, crafts, and design, science, education, but also our innovative technological discoveries in deep tech, innovations dealing with environmental protection or entertainment, in which we inspire the world. In addition to installations and AI reality, a festival of live performances and tele-bridges will take place on-site, involving interaction and participation from the audience. Although visitors to the pavilion can remain passive, they will take away many more experiences if they actively engage with the installation through augmented reality on their phones or with AR glasses. Throughout the entire space, it will be possible to communicate with remote visitors as well as with AI guides that can be summoned at almost every turn.

ARCHITECTURE AND MAIN MAGNETS OF THE PAVILION

The light glass facade of the pavilion offers a glimpse into the secrets it holds from the outside, while at the same time reflecting the surrounding environment due to its uniform reflective surface at the front of the building. Behind the front glass facade are LED panels that create a new dimension of perspective on the entire pavilion - a huge display surface that can accentuate the visible shapes of the building or completely suppress some at certain moments to highlight others. The "face" of the pavilion can at one moment become a massive information surface and at another moment a platform for displaying gigantic holographic effects. The Czech pavilion, along with this Living Wall, aspires to become one of the iconic landmarks of the entire world exhibition.

Behind the glass curtain of the front facade lies an internal volume intertwined in a regular structure of wooden construction, which spirals around the central majestic auditorium from the ground floor up to the highest point of the pavilion. The auditorium space is conceived as a universal multifunctional area, combining minimalist architecture with technologies in the form of 360° mapping. On the second floor, visitors will discover the first exhibitions of the pavilion. Here they will also be immersed in a full-surface immersive projection. The Interactive Wall in its passive form is a non-invasive part of the architecture, its expressive means. In its active form, it becomes part of the building's interactive interface. The journey through the pavilion then continues spirally upward through the third floor, filled with both small and large discoveries, to the rooftop level. However, the roof is a weak expression; it is a zone accumulating all the impressions gathered so far, a place of tranquility, even with a view of the sea. Here, too, the pavilion's creators worked with creative lighting and object video mapping. Visitors can refresh themselves on the roof, relax, and experience the Czech Republic through their taste buds, also available in the restaurant located on the ground floor.

The construction of the pavilion is operationally and technologically very simple. Built on reinforced concrete foundations, the wooden structure combines panel systems with wooden slats woven into spatial self-supporting structures. This principle is utilized in both the central volume with the hall and the roofing of the bar and main space. The idea of the construction concept is to find an innovative solution that fully supports the architect's vision and addresses the sustainability of the project, most commonly mentioning the disassemblability of the structure and its possible relocation elsewhere. This is already becoming a standard; however, what may surprise is the design of the structure using knowledge that experts are currently gaining and verifying through experiments. The creative team of LOXIA, LOOSERS, XLAB, and SKULL studio anticipates that during the pavilion's implementation in 2025, these elements will already be tested and part of standard construction practice. This is not a metaphorical direction towards the future but a literal and truly progressive one!