Campus Germany

The expo's role as a testing ground for architecture has evolved since the late 19th century, delineated into three distinct periods: industrialization, cultural exchange, and nation branding. Amid the rise of social media, digital culture, and virtual reality, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, LAVA believes Expo 2020 initiated a new fourth era. In this era, virtual experiences surpass the physical, emphasizing the imperative for expo pavilions to transcend mere vessels and instead provide visceral sensation.

Taking advantage of the expo’s location in Dubai, a major global aviation hub that projected three million international expo visitors from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, we designed the German pavilion as a physical platform for the social connections vital to advancing and improving society. The architectural design acts as a catalyst for interaction, facilitated by a sequence of narrative-centered spaces that cultivate an atmosphere conducive to collectively sharing knowledge and ideas.

With construction responsible for 40 percent of global carbon emissions, it can be argued that the expo’s role in driving a more sustainable architectural innovation has never been more urgent, a problem that requires connection and collaboration, explains LAVA Associate Partner Christian Tschersich: “The challenges we face cannot be overcome solely at the national level; rather, it requires collaboration as a global society. The expo provides architects with a platform to approach sustainability from a holistic perspective.”

LAVA, together with the creative agency Facts + Fiction, took this idea very seriously with ‘Campus Germany,’ the winning entry in a competition organized by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The pavilion embodies sustainability socially and structurally by facilitating idea exchange and being an environmental exemplar across its entire life cycle. In resonance with the theme of Expo 2020, “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” the German pavilion advocates for openness, democracy, and respect—embodying the core values of present-day Germany.

Designed as a forum for education, ‘Campus Germany’ is a 4,500-square-meter building that forms an ensemble of cantilevered cubes positioned vertically rather than horizontally like traditional campuses. Together, these cubes represent all federal states of Germany. This loose, porous stacking of volumes, an ensemble rather than a single form, suggests interconnectedness. At the heart of the building is an atrium that visually connects all areas, providing a space where visitors can attend events or simply connect: “We transformed a horizontal building typology into a vertical one,” notes Tschersich. “The central atrium provides a social connection across levels, where a giant staircase doubles as an auditorium, and wayfinding intersects to guide visitors through.”

Across this three-dimensional panorama of terraces and experiences, an exhibition program takes visitors on a journey akin to that of a student through a dynamic sequence of learning spaces known as the ‘Energy Lab,’ the ‘Future City Lab,’ and the ‘Biodiversity Lab,’ culminating in a space that unites people to demonstrate the impact of collective action. Although open for only six months, the pavilion attracted nearly 10,000 daily visitors. Reflecting on this success, Tschersich recalls, “People queued for up to seven hours to see it. We meticulously studied and measured the flow of visitors and applied these insights to future expo pavilion designs, including the Kuwaiti and German pavilions at Expo 2025 Osaka, employing mathematical principles and geometric strategies to guide visitor flow, akin to managing traffic at an airport.”