Dubai has appointed the UK’s Foster + Partners, Grimshaw Architects and Denmark’s Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to design three of the Expo 2020 pavilions.

Forster + Partners will design the ‘mobility’ pavilion while Grimshaw Architects and BIG will design the ‘sustainability’ and ‘opportunity’ pavilion respectively.

The companies won a global competition launched in July last year by one of the Expo’s leading developers, the local Emaar Properties.

Announcing the appointment of the group Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed al-Maktoum, the chairman of the Expo Higher Committee and Dubai Airports and Emirates Airline, said “the pavilions and their iconic architecture are central to World Expos, and the three pavilions will be centerpieces that showcase the latest ideas, innovations and developments whilst providing the visitors with an immersive and memorable experience”.

In late 2015 the Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau appointed US consultant Aecom to provide planning services for the Expo 2020 site.

The appointment followed the award of another consultancy contract to US-based Parsons International in August for the infrastructure design and supervision at the Expo site. Some preparatory work on the Expo site has already started. This includes site fencing and earthworks.

The Expo site is one of Dubai’s most high-profile projects at the moment and includes a 1.68-square-kilometre ticketed area.