Morris Associates

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary since the foundation of the UAE on the 2nd of December 1971, and housed in the Foster + Partners designed UAE Shanghai Expo pavilion, which was relocated to Abu Dhabi for this purpose, this exhibition presented the UAE’s wealth of culture related to it’s past, present and future.

For this project our team focused upon identifying and responding to the key elements noted in the competition RFP, and within its response gave careful consideration to the general objectives of both the NDCC and the brief’s objectives. Working in collaboration with Hypsos Middle East who was to fabricate and install our design, our intention was to conceptualise an emotionally stimulating display that provides varying levels of knowledge, interaction and visual splendour for visitors of all age and nationality, in an environment that invokes a general feeling of celebratory warmth and excitement throughout the pavilion. In order to accomplish this we organised the pavilion in a clear and informative manner, which best combined and utilised the fixed elements of the pavilion’s design with the various discovery based components.

To achieve this we incorporated a wide selection of display methods that captured the interest and imagination of the visitor. These included the more conventional style displays in combination with dynamic and interactive multimedia content, as proposed within the RFP. In addition, these key display elements were further enhanced by striking educational graphics, providing additional interpretative information and guidance.

Our design was given the highest assessment during the evaluation process and it was later realised successfully in what proved to be an extremely challenging schedule.