Expo 2020 Dubai will be sustainable, organisers say
From grinding discarded rubber tyres into asphalt for roads to pouring less water into the concrete mix, the team behind Expo 2020 Dubai is on a mission to ensure it is helping – not harming – the environment.
Directors set out the lengths to which they are going to make the project environmentally friendly as Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week got under way.
Lorries on the enormous construction site in Dubai South haul material on roads that have been paved with concrete from previous projects.
Expo officials say not a grain of sand has been shifted from the 4.38 square kilometre site.
“We hope to encourage a new way of thinking with the design and offer an architectural experience that retains its relevance long past the Expo opening,” said Ahmed Al Khatib, a senior vice president for Expo 2020.
Design columns called energy trees are made of solar panels and steel. The structures will harness sunlight and moisture from the humid air.
“Behind the solar panels will be layers designed to condense the humidity from the air to generate water to be used to irrigate the park around the Sustainability Pavilion,” Mr Al Khatib said.
Crushed tyres, reused building material and solar-panel trees that capture moisture from the air are among the green features at the Expo 2020 site.
Lorries on the enormous construction site in Dubai South haul material on roads that have been paved with concrete from previous projects.
Expo officials say not a grain of sand has been shifted from the 4.38 square kilometre site. It has been used instead to prepare building sites.
A car park for 30,000 vehicles will be built by grinding thousands of recycled tyres into the asphalt mixture so the rubber does not go into landfill.
Sustainability has been the focus of Expo organisers, from the planning through to the construction phase, where work of contractors is being monitored by consultants.
“We hope to encourage a new way of thinking with the design and offer an architectural experience that retains its relevance long past the Expo opening,” said Ahmed Al Khatib, a senior vice president for Expo 2020 Dubai.
“We have used additives in the concrete mix to reduce the consumption of water in the construction. Construction of a normal asphalt surface for the 30,000 car parking spaces would have affected the environment.
“Dubai Municipality is helping us source tyres that will be used as a binding component for the asphalt. We moved more than 5 million cubic metres of sand but always reused the sand that was first excavated for levelling the site.”
Bordering the Sustainability Pavilion, architects will design columns called energy or water trees made of solar panels and steel.
Drawing inspiration from photosynthesis, the structures will harness sunlight and moisture from the humid air.
“Behind the solar panels there will be layers designed to condense the humidity from the air to generate water that will be used for irrigation for the park around the Sustainability Pavilion,” Mr Al Khatib said.
“We are building harvests from the humidity from the air. We will also use groundwater and are in discussions with authorities to certify that water for drinking.
“The Sustainability Pavilion will be entirely self-sustaining, generating electricity, water and on days when it generates more power, it will feed into the grid.”
There are plans to create more than 45,000 green spaces to cool the area and canopies to protect visitors from the sun with the shades retracting in the evening.
The corridors and streets will be shaded by the buildings with the design allowing for a constant flow of air through winding paths, said Mr Al Khatib, who is responsible for managing the site masterplan, infrastructure, transport and sustainability.
Developers and government entities working on the site, such as the Dubai World Trade Centre, Emaar, Meraas and the National Media Council, have also been given guidelines to promote the use of recyclable material.
Architects will design columns called energy or water trees made of solar panels and steel
This is part of a broader green message that the Expo wants to spread to encourage residents to be conscious and care for the environment.
The progress and milestones on the Expo site will be highlighted during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
“We have tried to push the bar with our designs and one of our legacies is to roll out these sustainable practices across the UAE. We have guidelines on materials that can be used on the Expo site,” Mr Al Khatib said.
“Our target is to minimise depletion of natural resources, promote reuse of materials and encourage sourcing from close by. We have constant engagement and monitoring of contractors to make sure our guidelines are met.”
About 80 per cent of investment in infrastructure will be permanent, with plans for housing, offices, and an exhibition centre so the area will continue to thrive when the Expo ends in April 2021.
“Everything we are building in infrastructure and buildings will be permanent, except for components like the security gates and maybe the parking areas and the sections where the countries will dismantle their pavilions,” Mr Al Khatib said.
Elsewhere, recruitment of 30,000 volunteers is continuing at pace.
“We have started registration for the volunteer programme and are targeting people from all walks of life, from students to working individuals and people of determination,” said Najeeb Al Ali, executive director of the Expo 2020 Bureau.
“We want UAE nationals and expatriates to participate because it will be an opportunity to learn something new, meet people from all around the world and give something back.”