Renowned Polish-American architect, artist and designer Daniel Libeskind occupies the L spot in the A to Z series. For World Expo 2015 Milan, Libeskind’s studio created not only a corporate pavilion for Chinese property developer Vanke, but also the four gleaming gate-like structures in the heart of Piazza Italia – ‘The Wings’.

A well-established figure for the daring and spectacular shapes of his designs, Libeskind teamed up with Vanke to create a pavilion that developed Expo 2015’s theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”, and which showcased green technology and sustainability, both in its form and its content.

Taking the letter K in the Expo Architects series is Kisho Kurokawa, a leading figure in Japanese architecture of the 20th century who pioneered organic structures. At Osaka’s futuristic World Expo 1970, Kurokawa designed three pavilions: the Capsule House theme pavilion, the Takara Beautilion pavilion and the Toshiba-IHI pavilion.

A student of Kenzo Tange in the late 1950s, Kurokawa was one of the youngest founders of the Metabolist movement, which guided his architectural philosophy, seeking closer affiliation with natural processes and embracing impermanence. In creating a joint pavilion themed “Light for Man” for Japanese groups Toshiba and IHI, he magnificently put these ideas to use, creating a unique space-frame structure based on tetrahedron units.

Seattle’s World Expo 1962 is known for celebrating the Space Age and for putting Seattle on the map, notably with the construction of the Space Needle. More than this, the Century 21 Exposition was also a venue for showcasing innovations and offering visitors a glimpse of what the future had in store.

One of these innovations was the first ever cordless telephone, specially created so as to allow calls to be made from the Space Needle’s revolving restaurant without the complication of cables. The futuristic cordless phones were a hit with the public, but would not become commonplace for another several years.

After BIG’s pavilion for Denmark at Expo 2010 Shanghai, this week’s instalment of the A-Z of Expo Architects has only a short distance to go, with Finland’s pavilion, designed by Helsinki-based architectural group JKMM, situated a stone’s throw away.

Winning a tough competition with over 100 entries, JKMM – composed of Asmo Jaaksi, Teemu Kurkela, Samuli Miettinen and Juha Mäki-Jyllilä – created a pavilion that offered a microcosm of Finnish society, responding to the theme of Expo 2010 Shanghai, “Better City, Better Life”. Dubbed “Kirnu”, meaning Giant’s Kettle, the pavilion was inspired by the many large cavities cut into bedrock that form a key part of Finland’s geography.

Perhaps the youngest architect featuring on this A-Z series, Bjarke Ingels had nevertheless already made a name for himself when at 35 years old, he created, Denmark’s enchanting pavilion for World Expo 2010 Shanghai.

Having created his own architectural office (Bjarke Ingels Group – BIG) in 2006, Ingels was selected, with 2+1 and Arup, to design his home country’s pavilion at the first World Expo to take place in China. The architect and his team took an unconventional yet perceptive approach to the challenge: showcasing the virtues of urban life in Denmark via a 3,000m2 temporary building.