Nature’s Gallery: Five Odd Yet Brilliant Pavilion Designs Around the World

Across the world, architects are embracing whimsy and biodiversity in equal measure, creating experimental pavilions that delight as much as they function. These sculptural installations take cues from nature, geometry, and interactive storytelling.

Voxel Reflections in Motion – “null²”, Osaka Expo - Japan

At Expo 2025 in Osaka, the standout among eight signature pavilions is null², a mirrored voxel structure designed by media artist Yoichi Ochiai and NOIZ. This kinetic pavilion uses a “moving mirror” façade animated via robotic arms and acoustic waves to distort its reflections, creating an ever-changing landscape of light and perception. It blurs the line between physical and digital realms in a poetic dialogue of form, emptiness, and reflection.

Growing Matter(s) – Bio-Sphere Pavilion, Milan Design Week - Italy

Imagine architecture that lives and changes. That’s the premise behind Growing Matter(s) by Henning Larsen, built from 80 bio-grown spheres cultured from hemp, flour, and sugars. Over time, the spheres evolve in shape, showcasing architecture that grows, literally into its environment.

Jinji Lake Pavilion – BIG’s Fluid Canopy, Suzhou - China

Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, the Jinji Lake Pavilion frames a lakeside courtyard with a “pixelated leaf” canopy of glass tiles. It seamlessly blends garden and architecture, seen in the graceful curves that dissolve interior-exterior boundaries and cradle a tranquil central courtyard crowned by a tree.

Carbon Garden Pavilion, Kew Gardens - London, UK

The Carbon Garden Pavilion, designed by Mizzi Studio, is an educational marvel dressed in translucency. Inspired by foliage and fungi, this sustainable shelter features a flax-fibre canopy that collects rainwater, guiding it into a vibrant garden below. Northern larch and larvikite stone ensure it remains firmly rooted in nature.

Vinata Bamboo Pavilion - Vietnam

The Vinata Bamboo Pavilion, located in central Hanoi, offers a peaceful retreat amid high-rise apartments. Built as a communal space within a serviced apartment garden, it sits surrounded by four tall buildings yet blends greenery and bamboo to create calm in a dense urban setting.

Spanning 38m, the pavilion greets visitors at the site’s entrance, accessible from the lobby with views of the garden and pool. A bamboo structure and bougainvillea hedge form a soft boundary between parking and the semi-private garden.

Composed of 14 modules, each shaped from paired hyperbolic shells, the pavilion uses slender Tam Vong bamboo (40–50 mm) joined with dowel nails and rope. Its curving thatched roof (225 sqm) provides shade, while the bamboo frame casts shifting patterns of light along the corridors.