Led by Jasmax in collaboration with Haumi, Whanganui iwi Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Workshop e, Kaynemaile, and Mott MacDonald, the New Zealand Pavilion at Expo 2020 is themed ‘Care for People and Place’. The concept underpinning the design is based on the Māori concept of kaitiakitanga.

At the heart of this concept lies the belief that people and nature are inextricably connected; that we are one with nature, and that we have a responsibility to care for and protect our environment, and in return, it will care for and protect us.

The design of the pavilion is inspired by the world-first legal status accorded to the Whanganui River, which was legally recognised as a living entity in 2017. Under the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act, the river has been conferred with the same legal rights as a person.

This innovative legislation marks generations of effort by the Whanganui iwi Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi to protect the river’s wellbeing. It acknowledges the inextricable connection between the river and its people, and the understanding that when the river thrives, the people thrive.

When approaching the New Zealand Pavilion, visitors first encounter a rippling, water-like façade hovering over a low entry and hear a heartbeat, or pulse, emanating from the building. The façade moves in time with this low-frequency sound, which represents the mauri, or life-force of the river.

Upon entering the pavilion, visitors are guided through an internal walkway, where an immersive digital representation of the river courses alongside the walls. Triggered by sophisticated movement tracing technologies, visitors are able to interact with, and disrupt the flow of the river by marking their presence within the flow of light that surrounds them. Observing how their presence interacts with, and disrupts the river’s flow, they may come to the fundamental realisation of how powerfully their presence impacts nature.