Four years may seem like a long time, but in the world of truly inspiring architecture, some things are worth the wait. Today, Grimshaw unveiled updated design details of its Expo 2020 project as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The firm released revised images and features of its Sustainability Pavilion, highlighting a simpler and more transparent design for the structure, which is set to become one of the focal attractions of the upcoming world Expo in Dubai.
Photo © Grimshaw
Grimshaw has assembled a large multidisciplinary team including engineers from Buro Happold, exhibition designers at Thinc and a group of advisors including Sir Tim Smit — founder of Grimshaw’s iconic Eden Project — and Dennis Bushnell, chief scientist from NASA Langley. This massive undertaking will be ready for the expo’s opening day on October 20, 2020.
The site of the Sustainability Pavilion will include a core building with 8,000 square meters [86,000 square feet] of exhibition space, an auditorium, courtyard and reservoir. It features a dramatic overarching roof that seems to sprout from the ground and open up to the sky, providing shade over the building and doubling as the nucleus for energy generation. Its large, photovoltaic panels pull energy from the sun to power the entire site.
Video courtesy of Grimshaw. This video has not been updated with the latest designs for the Sustainability Pavilion but illustrates the firm’s original vision.
The new design — an improvement on the darker ribbed structure shown in the video above — now looks like a larger, inverted version of Grimshaw’s Fulton Center in New York or maybe just an enormous grounded satellite. Light and airy, the concept includes a central opening in the roof, letting direct sunlight into the exhibition space.
“Energy trees” — taller, thinner models of the central building — surround the pavilion. These structures track the sun, harvest energy for the site and generate water for the building from the air. The pavilion also includes landscaping with local flora from the United Arab Emirates and curved walkways inspired by Wadi riverbeds.
Photos © Grimshaw
Twenty-five million visitors are expected to attend Expo 2020 during its six-month duration, but the pavilion will remain a permanent fixture on the site as a science “Exploratorium,” speaking to the UAE’s aim to become a global leader in sustainability. Grimshaw hopes the project will be a hub for teaching self-sustaining design in extreme climates while also demonstrating the power of beautiful and practical architecture.
In a press release, Grimshaw’s Deputy Chairman Andrew Whalley said one of their key goals is to “inspire current and future generations on the importance of protecting our planet, and how we can use innovation in science and design to achieve this.”
Photo © Expo 2020
Grimshaw’s Sustainability Pavilion is one of three major structures being designed for Expo 2020. Foster + Partners and BIG have released designs for their pavilions, while HOK is designing a master plan for the Expo site.