Back to Full List

Israel Pavilion

With the theme, “Sea of Inspiration,” the Israel Pavilion provides a powerful emotional artistic experience for visitors. It brings the visitor face to face with the supreme beauty of the sea and proposed solutions used in Israel for non-destructive and sustainable innovations.

A quote near the entrance to the pavilion reads, “Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth. Genesis 1:26” Jewish people have always respected the value of harmony between man and nature, and have been motivated by the biblical commitment to take care of all living creatures.

Modern Israel is bounded to the west by the Mediterranean Sea, and to the south by the Red Sea. On the east lies Israel's longest and most famous river, the 320-kilometer-long River Jordan. The river flows south through the freshwater Sea of Galilee, eventually emptying into the Dead Sea.

While faced with four different seas, Israel is a small country which suffers from scarcity of drinking water. Consequently, the existential cause compelled Israeli scientists to reach many breakthrough discoveries in various aspects of life: agriculture, medicine, and energy. Numerous creative innovations have been developed at diverse Israeli research and technology institutes — many inspired by the Sea and the living creatures in it.

The Israel Pavilion resembles a symbiotic combination of pure nature and the world of progress, coming together without interruption and in mutual inspiration. This is a form that combines these two worlds, ostensibly different in purpose and essence, but more effective thanks to the constructive combination between them. The visit to the pavilion gives visitors an exciting glimpse into the world of pure nature and man's interactions with it.

Entering the pavilion, visitors walk along a pathway, gradually transitioning from reality into fantasy — slowly "diving" into an underwater experience where they can observe the beauty of “micro-creatures” moving in a wonderful and unfamiliar marine world. The main hall provides an artistic interpretation of the sterile world of the sea and the micro-organisms that are the building blocks of life.

The main hall is composed of 18 eight-meter-tall pillars with projections on their surface that create a dynamic and changing space meant to mirror the sea. The pillars are built on a robotic construction over which an elastic polymer material is stretched, capable of reacting to the movement of the skeleton and all its limbs. The pillars are also pneumatic, which means they can be robotically moved, providing the sense that they are in some form of liquid motion, like the movement of a gentle scud of water.

Their mobility and movement has an abstract resemblance to the forms and movement of the sea and/or marine botanical components. Images and lights are projected on the pillars, changing their appearance and creating an experience of a constantly evolving space.

Emerging from the deep, visitors proceed into the informative hall, a separate exhibition hall where they can explore Israel’s most remarkable discoveries and innovations that relate to the marine world. Four touch-sensitive glass panels provide hands-on interactive learning experience, presenting rich information about Israel's leadership in marine science, technology, biomed, cosmetics, desalination, aquaculture, and more.

In addition, a topographic model of Israel, onto which content is displayed marking the four seas that border the country (Mediterranean, Dead Sea, Red Sea, and the Sea of Galilee) in sync with aerial shots of Israel.

The pavilion façade features light fixtures of renowned Israeli artist Ayala Serfaty of Aqua Creations. Before exiting the pavilion, visitors are invited to download the pavilion app (by scanning a QR code). This giveaway and souvenir from the Israeli pavilion allows visitors to virtually explore the pavilion from their smart phones.

As part of the virtual tour, users are able to continue exploring the same Israeli innovations and discoveries presented via the interactive panels.