Germany! Out of the Box. German Pavillon
Expo 2027 Belgrad

Client: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

Year: 2027

Pavilions and World exhibitions

The theme for the Expo 2027 in Belgrade is ‘Play for Humanity – Sport and Music for All’. For the German Pavilion, this theme is translated into an independent German narrative: the role of games as a cultural technology and as a starting point for innovation. New ideas come about through playing without constraints, which frees up space for curiosity, experimentation and changing perspectives – and for solutions that come from calling existing rules and regulations into question.

In this way, ‘thinking out of the box’ becomes the central idea of the German presentation: ‘Germany! Out of the Box.’. We are responsible for both the architecture and the exhibition concept of the German Pavilion. 

The pavilion also approaches the out-of-the-box concept from a spatial perspective – the architecture looks like a solid body from which elements grow out in Germany’s official colours. Inside, the exhibition opens up into a ‘playground of innovation’: following the design theme of boxes, it showcases German innovations relating to the key expo themes of sport and music and allows them to be experienced through playing. Here, each architectural box is devoted to an innovation, a theme and an interaction. The content framework is provided by companies, start-ups and research institutions from Germany, while ambassadors from the realms of sport, music and science help to make the themes more accessible.