The 24 million showcase structure opened to visitors yesterday (13 April) with the theme ‘Come Build the Future’. It features a fully dismountable and relocatable modular system designed for ease of transportation after the Expo ends in October. This includes the overall structure, floorplates and external cladding, which WOO and ES Global say have been designed to be relocatable with minimum transportation. WOO’s façade design features perforated aluminium strands ‘to invoke the punched cards used in early calculating machines’. These are intertwined via a weaving technique, inspired by the textile industries that fuelled the 19th-century industrial revolutions in both Manchester and Osaka.Advertisement The façade pattern, meanwhile, references pixels – with the structure’s architectural form inspiring the name and appearance of the pavilion’s mascot, PIX. The digital mascot takes visitors to the pavilion on a 20-minute journey showcasing British innovation as well as examples of how the UK works with other countries and cultures to ‘shape what’s next’. The gamified experience is part of a ‘story-first’ approach, which, say the organisers, makes the 2025 UK pavilion the ‘first fully narrative-driven World Expo showcase’ creating an ‘emotive, immersive experience designed to leave visitors inspired and uplifted’. The UK Department for Business and Trade awarded the pavilion’s original concept and creative direction to design studio Immersive International in March 2023. Following a competition later that year, it commissioned structure specialist and delivery partner ES Global working with WOO Architects to turn the concept into a physical design. An earlier iteration of WOO’s design, unveiled in March last year, featured LED screens on the pavilion’s exterior. That design was updated at the beginning of the year to include the weave pattern.Advertisement Emma Owens, director of WOO and lead designer of the UK Pavilion, commented:  'The pavilion's design celebrates Britain at a pivotal moment; our global reputation for innovation and creativity shines through, while the playful facade reflects our innate curiosity and ability to find opportunity in every challenge. This is a space where a rich historic narrative comes alive, and we hope it inspires conversations about British resilience and industriousness for years to come  She conintued: 'Borrowing from iconic designs from industrial design to textiles, our work on the UK pavilion is inspired by our nation’s rich heritage of innovation, technology and creativity. We hope that visitors will agree that the UK Pavilion stands as an eye-catching and elegant structure at Expo 2025 Osaka.’ Immersive International chief executive John Munro said: ‘This pavilion is really a snapshot of how we approach experiential masterplanning. We have built an experience that speaks to people on an emotional level – one that lingers long after they leave. ‘Our approach at Immersive has always been about storytelling first. Technology is the amplifier. It’s what turns ideas into encounters, and space into memory. ‘The pavilion is a place where visitors don’t just learn about British innovation; they feel it. They see themselves in it. We always try to make places that feel alive – places that people want to come back to because they feel part of something bigger, and a space they can connect in.’ The Department for Business and Trade’s Expo director for the UK, Ceri Owen-Bradley, added: ‘From day one, this pavilion has been a truly collaborative effort. We’ve worked hand-in-hand with Immersive International, ES Global and Woo Architects, bringing together creative and technical expertise from across the UK. This close teamwork and shared creativity have been essential to achieving the pavilion’s ambitious goals.’ WOO Architects is a King’s Cross-based practice, born in 2014 out of the design team for the London 2012 Olympics, while ES Global specialises in ‘semi-permanent, sustainable structures’, including six venues for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. ES Global previously said the same ‘kit of parts’ used at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games would be used in Osaka for the Australian Pavilion. The firm has also worked to deliver the USA pavilion, designed by  Trahan Architects. Other architects involved in this year’s World Expo include Foster + Partners, which has designed the Saudi Arabia pavilion; British Museum revamp winner Lina Ghotmeh, who has designed Bahrain’s pavilion; and 2025 RIBA Royal Gold Medal winner SANNA, which is behind the Better Co-Being pavilion. Previous UK pavilions for World Expos include Heatherwick Studio, Wolfgang Buttress and BDP’s pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo, which was awarded the event’s ‘best in show’ prize.