About This Project
Britain’s best thinkers predicted a satellite-enabled future long before it became a reality. Dreams of a connected, intelligent world can be traced through 500 years of thought, from Isaac Newton to Arthur C. Clarke, Ada Lovelace to Alan Turing. By bringing together satellite and AI innovations, Britain continues to shape the future and innovate for a better world.
By 2020, it is predicted some 6000 satellites shall be in operation and orbiting the earth. Our proposal for the Dubai Expo UK Pavilion, SATELLITES, aims to articulate and celebrate Britain’s unique contribution to this remarkable milestone, demonstrating how imagination, innovation and collaboration can change and improve lives around the world.
For the SATELLITES pavilion visitor, Britain’s story unfolds in three distinct but interconnected parts. Beginning with the UK’s Dreams of a Connected Future, rising to a crescendo in Ascent to Orbit, and culminating in an exploration of our Intelligent Future, visitors will discover how satellite and AI industries are opening up new horizons for us all.
At the heart of our story, visitors enter the SATELLITES pavilion and ascend into orbit on a magical, immersive and interactive journey inspired by the life cycle of a satellite. Themes including Conception, Construction and Launch are expressed through the physical transformation of the pavilion surface via user generated inputs effecting movement, music and light.
The SATELLITES pavilion form is inspired by the path described in space by a satellite orbiting earth over the course of a year. Its surface is populated by 6000 kinetic SATELLITE umbrellas, each symbolizing an actual satellite in orbit around the earth during Expo year. The design of the SATELLITE umbrellas is inspired by an innovative folding pattern used within the space industry for developing satellite related deployable structurers.
Each SATELLITE umbrella is individually controlled in real time using AI in response to visitor input received through haptic sensors arrayed along the orbiting ramp inside the pavilion.
SATELLITES promises every visitor a unique, engaging and dynamic experience, ensuring the continuation of the UK’s reputation as the centre of the creative Universe.