The results of the competition for the Brazilian Pavilion at EXPO 2020 were announced today, November 12. The objective of the competition was to select a proposal and subsequently commission the complete Executive Project (Architectural Design, Complementary Engineering Projects, and Exhibition Design), construction supervision, consulting, and related services for the Brazilian Pavilion at the World Expo. The competition was promoted by Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) and organized by the Federal District Department of the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB/DF).
According to the competition brief, “the Brazilian Pavilion should highlight diversity with the theme TOGETHER FOR DIVERSITY, sub-divided into nature, people, and tomorrow (Together for Nature, Together for People, and Together for Tomorrow). These are the starting points for the architects to showcase the diversity of fauna and flora, the ethnic, creative, and cultural multiplicity of our people, and present Brazil as a unifying country, as well as a key global actor in international sustainability issues. The keyword summarizing the Brazilian theme is sociobiodiversity—and the Brazilian Pavilion, from its conception, must reflect this unique characteristic of the country.”
Under the theme *Connecting Minds, Creating the Future*, Expo Dubai will address Opportunity, Mobility, and Sustainability. The Brazilian Pavilion will be located in the latter section, focusing on discussions that reaffirm the importance of biodiversity, the culture of environmental preservation, sustainability-based competitiveness, and a portrayal of Brazilian multiculturalism.
The Jury consisted of Fernando Viegas, Maria Luiza Fragoso, Thiago Andrade, Fernando Diez, and Inês Lobo, with Emilia Stenzel and Andrey Rosenthal Schlee as alternates.
1st Place
Authors: José Paulo Gouvêa, Marta Moreira, Martin Benavidez, Milton Braga
Collaborators: Emilia Darricades, Raphael Carneiro, Seizen Uehara, Tomás Quaglia Martínez, Victor Oliveira, Ana Carolina Isaía, Mateo Arjona, Malcolm Dixon, Dion Collier, Raquel Morais, Miguel Maratá, Gabriela Trevizan
Curators: Guilherme Wisnik and Alexandre Benoit
According to the jury, the unity and simplicity of the spatial and structural proposal enhance the experience of water as a central element of the exhibition design. The architectural project stands out for its spatial clarity and the lightness of its structure, which is simultaneously dense in how it envelops the visitor. The “discreet, suspended latticed volume projecting over the water plaza” ensures that the pavilion's presence contrasts with the competitive environment typical of World Fairs, offering silence as a response.
The exhibition proposal prioritizes the creation of immersive fields. The immersive space, acting as a visually permeable membrane, allows for integration between the exterior and interior environments. The potential of the space to host temporary happenings and events beyond those formally scheduled is highly notable [...] The proposal is open to the development of exhibition content, and possesses the capacity to conceptualize the country regardless of a specific moment, allowing for updates aimed at imagining a future Brazil, in line with the objectives of the Brazilian representation's theme: “Together for Diversity.”
2nd Place
Authors: Fabiano José Arcadio Sobreira
Collaborators: Filipe de Abreu Bresciani, Luana Alves, Paulo Henrique de Oliveira, and Gabriela Figueiredo
Exhibition Design: Paulo Victor Borges Ribeiro
According to the jury, "the proposal designs an opaque, almost monolithic volume that prompts a necessary decision upon entry, enticing the visitor into an experience within this mysterious space of discovery. The integration of architecture and exhibition design occurs through a guided circular path that begins without transitional spaces right from the main entrance. The visitor then emerges into a spiral of conceptual universes made up of paths of evocative imagery leading to a central space, characterized by the silence exuded by the raw materiality of its built surfaces, contrasted by the ephemerality of light and the fluidity and transparency of water. The narrative of the exhibition proposal is strong in concepts and positioning that evoke a necessary introspection. Visitors are offered a repertoire of works that prioritize human relations, social and historical contexts, as well as their relationship with the environment, avoiding a representation of this environment as merely natural."
3rd Place
Authors: 0e1 + Masa, Martin Pronczuk, and Santiago Saettone
Collaborators: Jeronimo Berrutti, Lucia Echavarria, and Julian Martinez
Exhibition Design: Gabriel Lima Giambastiani
Scenography: Ana Cristina Castagna
Museography: Mathias Pereira Sant'anna
Curator: Mario Guidoux Gonzaga
According to the jury: "The proposal focuses on assembly, feasibility, and viability, with low implementation costs for its structure and fixed elements, while innovating in the design of pragmatic spaces without neglecting the areas and requirements of the Terms of Reference. The pavilion presents itself as a penetrable whole that allows for multidirectional circulation. A pavilion with no doors, no threshold, and no need for queuing or control, which evokes its image of a diaphanous, rhythmic, and precise volume. It seeks to contrast with the formal excesses expected from neighboring pavilions, standing out for its low height, horizontality, monochromatism, and lighting, whether through the reflection of the vault during the day, or its lantern-like effect at night."
The layout of the pragmatic and exhibition spaces is fluid, allowing it to be reconfigured countless times throughout the Expo and executed “in the negative.” The pavilion and its construction are the main exhibition and visitor-interaction features, expanding the concept of immersion to direct contact with the building's materiality. The pavilion—light, ethereal, composed of slender elements and a regular prism—does not, however, result in a cursory or imperceptible architecture. On the contrary, it seeks to stand out through silence, in the same way that its exhibition design avoids mimesis or excessive representation of the proposed cultural and natural themes, achieving them through synesthesia rather than figuration.
Honorable Mention
Offices: OYAPOCK Architectes + André Scarpa
Authors: Raphael Azevedo França, Rodrigo Tamburus, Mathieu Garcia, Florent Descolas, Adrien Mondine, Rosário Pinho, and André Scarpa
Co-authors: Jasmina Girod, Margaux Bosset
Collaborators: Pamela Gomes, Amanda Tamburus, and David Zee
Scenography: Glória Afflalo
Curator: Andrea Carneiro Jakobsson
According to the jury, a rectangular building that develops in a Cartesian manner. Consistent with climatic and historical conditions, it proposes a dialogue between Brazilian timber architecture and its craftsmanship, and archetypal elements of Arabic architecture as possibilities for the intersection of two cultures.
For more information about the competition and to view all the submitted proposals, visit the official website.
This article was written by Eduardo Souza. The translation is powered by AI.
