EXHIBITOR MAGAZINE'S WORLD EXPO AWARDS BEST PRESENTATION/STORYTELLING: KUWAIT

DESIGN/FABRICATION: Lava, NUSSLI Group, Insglück Gesellschaft für Markeninszenierung mbH

From the moment visitors arrived at the Kuwait pavilion, cultural symbolism and connectedness took center stage. While a soaring wing-shaped roof gave a symbolic nod to Kuwait's dunes and waves, its modern design spoke to the country's future. Inside, the cultural story unfolded across five choreographed chapters — from an immersive 4D activity within a cleverly constructed oyster shell to a sensory immersion within a desert atmosphere. However, the pavilion's final chapter, the Visionary Lighthouse, served as the pavilion's emotional climax, connecting visitors via a shared immersive experience.

Housed beneath a vast dome, the Visionary Lighthouse invited visitors to step into an abstracted desert landscape crowned by a star-filled sky. However, this was no passive spectacle. Rather, each person became a co-creator of the night. At interactive “wish machines,” guests spoke aloud their personal hopes for the future, and an AI system instantly transformed those words into radiant shooting stars, projected in real time across the dome.

After making their wish, visitors reclined on sculptural dunes, hearing their own voices blend with those of others, seeing their stars orbit and connect to form shared constellations. As more voices joined in, the starry sky grew denser and more dynamic. Images of people and landscapes emerged, and the chorus of wishes filled the space with a collective sense of hope. In that moment, private dreams became part of a greater whole.

By Exhibitor magazine: Linda Armstrong, Sean Carlson, Danelle Dodds, Emily Olson, Nancy Olson, and Charles Pappas