Reinventing the Expo for the Twenty-First Century with the UK Pavilion for Expo Milano 2015

Everything runs on water. Our bodies, farms, power plants, cities and economies all run on nature’s silent currency: water. Water is a limited resource and it is under tremendous pressure, with 80% of the water we use hidden in our food.

This is why #silentcurrency uses water as a metaphor to address the questions posed by the Expo: “How can we ensure sufficient, good, healthy and sustainable food for everyone on the planet?”

In our design for the UK Pavilion, the metaphor of water is used to communicate the message through an immersive experience. The metaphor of water describes the impact of our food consumption and makes us reflect on our personal responsibilities. Our individual water footprint is a universal measure that conveys a complicated story in a simple and powerful way.

Inside the Pavilion, a mysterious roofless black container, visitors walk along paths cut through a vast volume of water representing their water footprint – a memorable experience designed to inspire to change.

It will be impossible to leave the Pavilion without understanding the message – and it will go global.