It is an essential part of every Maltese fishing boat: the eye on the bow as a good luck charm. This motif of the eye of Osiris has been incorporated into the shape of the Maltese pavilion. From the outside a glass wall encloses the oval building. A portal of Maltese limestone calls to mind the many churches on Malta and on the neighbouring island Gozo. Inside the building three round exhibition rooms are arranged along the longitudinal axis. Using state-of-the-art multimedia technology and installations almost six thousand years of the history of humankind come alive.

Prehistoric temples, Phoenicians, Arabs and crusaders have left their traces on the Maltese islands. Replicas of tombstone slabs of the knights of Malta are embedded in the floor of the roof garden. On this open 'deck' there is also a slightly elevated stage. It has the contours of the Maltese archipelago, and, on the blue glass floor, it looks as if it is surrounded by the sea.