-
The World Expo is an event where numerous countries come together to show their achievements and ideas in the form of architecture
-
The 2020 Expo will be hosted by Dubai and has themes of ‘Connecting Minds’ and ‘Creating the Future’. Along with ideas of ‘Sustainability’, ‘Mobility’ and ‘Opportunity’
-
Here’s a look at some of the coolest and craziest buildings that are being presented
The Dubai Expo 2020 will take up an impressive 1083 acres of space to allow a large handful of countries to show their stuff. With the themes of ‘Connecting Minds’ and ‘Creating the Future’ this expo has some of the most space-age, futuristic pavilions we have ever seen. We’ve got together a selection of those pavilions and what makes them special.
The Expo 2020 will take place in Dubai on October 20 onwards, here’s the pavilions you need to know about:
UAE Pavilion
Architect: Santiago Calatrava
Theme: N/A
District: N/A
Starting at where it all starts, the UAE Pavilion is one of the largest there at 15,000 sqm. The building takes inspirations from the shape of a flying falcon, the national bird of the UAE.
Azerbaijan Pavilion
Architect: Simmetrico
Theme: Seeds for the Future
District: Sustainability
Sticking closely to its theme and idea, this pavilion has a leaf-shaped roof, as well as 1,300 sqm of gardens and walkways. It also has solar power and rainwater harvesting technology.
Austria Pavilion
Architect: querkraft
Theme: Every Good Idea Begins with the Right Question
District: Opportunity
Proof that low-tech can be impressive, this pavilion uses 9,000 year old soil, creating 47 truncated cones. It also boasts a shaded courtyard and Viennese coffeehouse.
Belarus Pavilion
Architect: NÜSSLI Adunic AG
Theme: Forest of Future Technology
District: Opportunity
A futuristic recreation of the primeval forests of Belarus, this cubic creation highlights themes of innovation, individualism and investment. It will also have interactive installations and live folk and dance groups.
Belgium Pavilion
Architect: Assar Architects and Vincent Callebaut Architectures
Theme: Smart and Green Belgium 2050
District: Mobility
Covered in greenery, this ark inspired pavilion is all about producing more energy than it uses. It sports 10,000 plants all in all and will showcase many of Belgium’s sustainability innovations. It is described as an eco-friendly pavilion.
Brazil Pavilion
Architect: JPG.ARQ, MMBB and Ben-Avid
Theme: Together for Diversity
District: Sustainability
Water is at the heart of this pavilion, designed to recreate part of the Amazon River; the Amazon basin, this building has a water feature that you can wade through yourself.
China Pavilion
Architect: Construction Engineering Design Group Corporation Limited
Theme: Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind – Innovation and Opportunity
District: Opportunity
China’s pavilion is one of the largest at 4,636 sqm, it is designed in inspiration of the future and hope. The pavilion will sport dazzling light shows and is said to be a merger of Chinese and Western culture, though still with Chinese at the core.
Czech Republic Pavilion
Architect: Formosa AA
Theme: Czech Spring
District: Sustainability
This pavilion is centred on specific tech, extracting water vapour from the air to create an oasis in the desert. The pavilion has been styled to mimic this idea of water vapour, as well as designed to celebrate the nation’s history of glassmaking.
Finland Pavilion
Architect: JKMM
Theme: Sharing Innovative Competences
District: Mobility
A pavilion made to resemble an Arabic tent made of snow, the pavilion aims to merge the UAE’s and Finland’s landscapes. It also has a large wooden gorge carved into the centre to provide shelter from the UAE heat.
France Pavilion
Architect: Ateilier du Prado Architectes and Celnikier & Grabli
Theme: Light, Lights
District: Mobility
The France Pavilion or ‘Light, Lights’ is based around exploring and celebrating light as the centre of progress, creativity and connections. Rightly so then the building is adorned with countless light installations and has daily light shows.
Germany Pavilion
Architect: LAVA, facts and fiction
Theme: Campus Germany
District: Sustainability
Based around a campus vibe, this large structure screams usual Germanic efficiency, along with flow and creativity that comes with a campus environment. The pavilion will provide visitors with wearable technology as they explore areas such as The Energy Lab, The Future City Lab and The Biodiversity Lab.
Japan Pavilion
Architect: Yuko Nagayama and NTT Facilities
Theme: Join. Sync. Act.
District: Opportunity
A fusion of Japanese and Arabesque patterns, the pavilion boasts a complex lattice exterior, said to pay homage to the Silk Road route that connected the Middle East to Japan. It is a high tech building built around themes of wind, water and light.
Republic of Korea Pavilion
Architect: Mooyuki Architects
Theme: Smart Korea, Moving the World to You
District: Mobility
A design consisting of rotating cubes that continuously change the pavilion’s design, this stands as a more ambitious entry. Inside, there is a spiral shaped exhibition space that runs through the building, offering panoramic views.
Luxembourg Pavilion
Architect: Metaform
Theme: Resourceful Luxembourg
District: Opportunity
A pavilion set to resemble a Mobius strip, this spacey building also features a slde that visitors can use.
Mobility Pavilion
Architect: Foster + Partners
Theme: Mobility
District: Mobility
One of the few thematic pavilions at the Expo, the Mobility Pavilion is one of the more striking buildings, with the world’s largest elevating platform inside. The pavilion is also said to have drone and robot waiters inside.
Monaco Pavilion
Architect: AODA, OOS
Theme: Monaco 360◦ – a World of Opportunities
District: Opportunity
Monaco’s entry is a gem-like, polygonal pavilion said to be a multi-sensory journey. The ‘Kaleidoscope’ building houses mirrored spaces, as well as sights and smells of the French Riviera.
The Netherlands Pavilion
Architect: V8 architects
Theme: Uniting Water, Energy and Food
District: Sustainability
The Netherlands take on the Expo is a building built using locally sourced materials that will then be recycled after the expo. It is described as a miniature world with its own climate system, a cone-shaped vertical fame that can harvest food, energy and water.
New Zealand Pavilion
Architect: Jasmax
Theme: Care for People and Place
District: Sustainability
This structure aims on reflecting the Maori (indigenous Polynesian peoples of NZ) value of “kaitiakitanga’, with focuses on deep attachment to people and the environment. The pavilion is designed to highlight the idea of connections.
Norway Pavilion
Architect: Rintala Eggertsson Architects, Expomobilia and Fivecurrents
Theme: Norway as a world-leading ocean nation
District: Opportunity
A pavilion focused on exploration of the deep blue sea, ocean conservation and maritime activity. The blue tinted windows and design evoke the idea of the sea and ocean-dwelling creatures.
Oman Pavilion
Architect: Adi Architecture
Theme: Oman – Opportunities over Time
District: Mobility
A pavilion celebrating frankincense, described by the pavilion itself as Oman’s “gift to the world”. The exterior of the building resembles the tree that produces this resin. Inside are five zones discussing the ways frankincense has benefited Oman.
Opportunity Pavilion
Architect: Cox Architecture
Theme: Opportunity
District: Opportunity
A colossal piece of architecture made from organic materials, including timber, 2,500 tonnes of stone and 111 km of woven rope. It is designed to help visitors realise the role they can play in the development of humanity.
Russia Pavilion
Architect: Tchoban SPEECH, Simpateca Entertainment Group
Theme: N/A
District: Mobility
A spiralling explosion of colour, this is dubbed the pavilion for “blowing your mind”.
Saudi Arabia Pavilion
Architect: Boris Micka Associates
Theme: The sky is the limit
District: Opportunity
The same size as two football pitches, 13,000 sqm, this is one of the largest pavilions to see. It is said to resemble a huge window opening up from the ground upwards. It has a focus on energy, creativity and innovation.
Spain Pavilion
Architect: Amann-Canovas-Maruri
Theme: People and Places
District: Sustainability
A conical shape to increase air flow to keep visitors cool in the UAE heat, the pavilion is all about traditional entertainment and exploring the history of Islam in Spain.
Sustainability Pavilion
Architect: Grimshaw Architects
Theme: Sustainability
District: Sustainability
Drawing inspiration from processes like photosynthesis, the pavilion is all about capturing sunlight and water from the humid air. In its aim to be a centre for ecology and technology during the Expo, it has gone for a design similar to that of solar panel technology.
Sweden Pavilion
Architect: Alessandro Ripellino Arkitekter, Studio Adrien Gardère and Luigi Pardo Architetti
Theme: Co-Creation for Innovation
District: Sustainability
Scandi woodlands combined with Islamic geometry, this building is created with wooden trunks and aims to teach how Sweden is becoming a smart-city.
Switzerland Pavilion
Architect: OOS
Theme: Belles Vues
District: Opportunity
A pavilion you take ‘hike’ through, the design features a large pointed mirror downwards. Inside there is a theatre allowing visitors to feel like they are in the foggy Swiss mountains.
Thailand Pavilion
Architect: Index Creative Village
Theme: Mobility for the future
District: Mobility
“State-of-the-art technology meets traditional charm”. The outside is covered by a curtain of 500-plus woven artificial flowers.
UK Pavilion
Architect: Es Devlin Studio, Avantgarde and Veretec
Theme: Innovating for a Shared Future
District: Opportunity
Inspired by a project from the late scientist Stephen Hawking, this building features a series of screens on the outside that contribute to a larger poetic message. The poem on the outside is generated by AI and visitors’ contributions.
Ukraine Pavilion
Architect: N/A
Theme: Smart Ukraine: Connecting Dots
District: Opportunity
This building is set to explore Ukraine’s cultural heritage, featuring a picturesque flora to create a calming atmosphere. The building also sports floral patterns on the outside in between massive glass screens.
USA Pavilion
Architect: Curtis W Fentress
Theme: What Moves You? The Spirit of Mobility
District: Mobility
Each massive slant on the exterior of the almost stadium-like building act as screens, making the building to appear as if it can move.
Check out the official Dubai Expo site here, with more pavilions set to be announced soon.
