The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Pavilion at Expo 2025

In partnership with Foster + Partners, 59 Studio designed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s pavilion at Expo 2025, weaving architecture, story and placemaking together to connect audiences with the undiscovered wonders of Saudi Arabia.

We were approached by Foster + Partners to join them as partners in a competition that we won in consortium.

Located on the Yumeshima waterfront, and inspired by traditional urban structures of the Kingdom and ancient structures of AI Ula and the desert, the pavilion hosts a spatial experience that echoes the exploration of Saudi Arabian towns and cities, blending audio and visual to provide an immersive place.

Our design process is always led by the story and this project proved to be no different, with narrative embedded firmly within the architectural design from the beginning, tied into the very fabric of the building itself.

Layer by layer, and through design that plays with scale, light, sound and texture to stimulate the senses, visitors are taken on a journey of discovery that paints vivid pictures of Saudi Arabian culture and some of the country’s most innovative and exciting accomplishments.

59 Studio was responsible for delivering the design of two of the ‘core’, culturally-focused visitor experience spaces and also delivered Stage, Lighting and Audiovisual systems design and integration throughout the pavilion.

Focusing on the rich, deep-rooted cultural history of KSA, we designed the central courtyard and two cultural studios that put Saudi artists and their practice at the heart of the spaces. These bespoke, highly-equipped cultural studios will then become active spaces inhabited by artists in a series of residencies, allowing people to see the creativity of these artists and musicians first-hand. Over the 6-month Expo, work from these artists will be developed and woven into an evolving nightly show that will take place in the courtyard every evening.

Under a separate brief, 59 Studio and partners Done + Dusted collaborated to create a dynamic platform for 44 talented artists from across the Kingdom. These artists were invited to work within our specially designed Visual Arts and Music studios inside the pavilion, showcasing the very best of Saudi Arabia’s vibrant cultural scene. Collaborating closely with the artists, the 59 team produced Visions of Saudi Arabia, a captivating ten-minute projection mapping, light and audio show. Presented nightly in the heart of the Pavilion’s Saudi Courtyard, the show evolves each week, introducing fresh and exciting works, ensuring that every visitor’s experience is unique. As the Expo progresses, the show continues to inspire exploration of the ever-changing artistic journey of a fast developing cultural scene.

Leo Warner, Director of 59 Studio said: “Architecture and story have been woven together via this uniquely collaborative design process. The pavilion will be a social organism, incubating the work of contemporary Saudi practitioners in state-of-the-art facilities, and dynamically integrating their work into immersive experiences that evolve throughout the 6 months of Expo.”

Fellow Journey studio Squint/Opera also crafted immersive content across a series of galleries and spaces exploring the country’s past, present, and future — moving seamlessly between cinematic storytelling, interactive installations and real-time art creation, with seamless integration of media and physical form.