Ten Alps teamed up with Land Design Studio and the Natural History Museum to produce the pavilion called www.my-earth.org.uk after being awarded the contract by the Foreign Office (Event, June 2004).
The exhibition, which is held in a different country every five years, opened on 25 March in Aichi Prefecture and runs until 25 September. The theme is Nature's Wisdom and 122 countries are taking part.
With an estimated 15 million visitors to Expo 2005, it is set to be the British government's largest overseas public diplomacy campaign of the year.
The UK pavilion, funded equally by the private sector, a number of SME companies and the government, invites guests to pass through an English garden featuring the work of seven British artists that reflect on global environmental issues.
Visitors enter the pavilion through an audio experience based on British birdsong and are then able to explore seven feature pods inspired by designs and processes in the natural world.
Ten Alps managing director Tim Spencer said: "To show variety we selected examples from architecture, conservation, renewable energy sources and new product development. They include Fastskin fabric based on the shark, gecko tape based on how geckos walk upside down, smart fabric inspired by pine cones, the Eden Project in Cornwall and the Millennium Seedbank at Kew Gardens."
As visitors leave the UK pavilion, they are able to peer into 28 birdboxes containing images of natural British landscapes. Spencer said: "Each area has been designed to withstand 17,000 visitors a day spending up to 40 minutes passing through. It's a huge undertaking but incredibly rewarding."
- Ten Alps has appointed former Radio 1 executive producer of dance music Matt Priest to head up a new division, Ten Alps Music Events. Priest will stage branded music ventures to allow brands to target specific audience demographics.