2,500 tonnes of stone, 111km of rope … that’s how you make an Expo pavilion
A building made with thousands of tonnes of stone, held together by 111 kilometres of rope, will be one of the centrepieces of the Expo 2020 Dubai site.
Expo 2020 Dubai organisers have revealed design plans for the 4,500 square metre Opportunity Pavilion, to be made from recyclable and organic material such as timber, rope and about 2,500 tonnes of stone.
“We wanted this to be a magnet for Expo 2020 visitors,” Maha Al Gargawi, a director at Expo 2020 Dubai, told The National ahead of the pavilion’s unveiling today.
“We want to walk the walk because we are committed to sustainable development, so all the material will be natural and the curation, design and construction of the pavilion echoes sustainability.”
The outer structure of the distinctive Opportunity Pavilion evokes images of the desert, replicating the sweeping majesty of sand dunes.
Interactive gaming elements will also be part of the experience for visitors.
As visitors walk through the structure, the aim is to make sustainability the focus and to prompt them to explore the choices they can make in their own lives.
“We will take visitors on an engaging journey through the gaming component that will help them understand and visualise how their choices can leave an impact on our world.
“We are aiming to attract all age groups regardless of where they come from,” Ms Al Gargawi said.
“This does not require prior or specific knowledge of sustainable development goals.
“We are assuming that all visitors may not know this. We want a visitor who visits the Opportunity Pavilion to leave feeling that they can take action and could actually contribute to a more sustainable future.
“Our aim is to educate using an entertaining element.”
The braided rope structure will permit light to filter through by day and creates an intricate pattern of shadows by night. The pavilion will be surrounded by a landscaped area with seats, stretches of grass and walking paths dotted with food and beverage stalls. Australia’s Cox Architecture and the British company Event Communications won international bids to design the building and curate the exhibition within.
“The pavilion will feature a rope-and-light theme throughout, with intertwined ropes reflecting the coming together of people to contribute to human progress, giving them a sense of fulfilment and encouraging further action,” said Steve Woodland, principal director at Cox Architecture.
“The Opportunity Pavilion is a welcoming space that draws people together and sets them on a fun and engaging journey that progressively immerses them as active participants in a mind-awakening experience.”
High on the United Nations’ 2030 agenda for sustainable development is ending poverty. The other objectives include avoiding throwing out food, helping children to read, avoiding wasting water and using plastic bags, using clean energy, planting trees and improving international partnerships to achieve these goals.
The pavilion is meant to spark people’s curiosity by allowing them to share ideas.
“Each Expo pavilion focuses on different sub-themes, and through the Opportunity Pavilion we wanted to focus on the objectives that are set by the UN Development Programme and use the pavilion to popularise the sustainable development goals,” Ms Al Gargawi said.
“The expo will attract 25 million visits and we hope to attract these millions of visitors to the pavilion to popularise the sustainable development goals. We hope to create a platform for international collaboration that will be a catalyst to create partnerships with new ideas, new technology and bring together countries and corporations.”
The pavilion is the last major design element to be revealed before the six-month World Expo begins in October 2020.
The other two pavilions are based on mobility and sustainability.
There is no specific figure available for the construction of each pavilion, but Dh25 billion ($6.8bn) is the overall budget for the Expo 2020 Dubai.
While the mobility pavilion incorporates solutions for the movement of people and goods, enabling better access for the disabled, the sustainability building will produce much of its energy and water requirements and is bordered by energy or water trees made from solar panels.
Poverty, hunger, disease and environmental impact often feel removed or too overwhelming for us as individuals to have any real impact. But collectively, each of our choices and actions can be a force for positive change in even the most complex global challenges.
The UAE is inviting the world to come together and prove this as part of Expo 2020 Dubai.
A world expo is a rare chance for individuals, nations, businesses, multilateral organisations and educational institutions from all over the world to come together and form meaningful partnerships that drive global change.
Expo 2020’s newly unveiled Opportunity Pavilion is designed to act as a platform to harness this power of collaboration in our joint effort to support human development.
The pavilion is framed around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 17 global objectives that aim to ensure a basic quality of life for everyone.
This week I will attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York to discuss how the international community is working to achieve those SDGs as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Through Expo 2020, the UAE can make a significant contribution to this collective effort and the Opportunity Pavilion has a crucial role to play.
By providing people with access to basic needs such as clean water, nutritious food and equal access to healthcare, education and jobs, we create environments that enable them to thrive and reach their full potential. Every individual has a role to play if we are to maximise the scale of our impact.
The Opportunity Pavilion will put each visitor at the heart of our collective mission to support human development through an engaging and interactive journey that uses decision-making to show the impact of our choices and actions.
It will highlight how our individual, small actions can help solve problems faced by communities in every corner of the planet.
The pavilion will also offer the ideal home for Expo 2020’s global best practice programme called Small Steps, Big Leaps, which showcases successful solutions that can have an impact on the world’s biggest challenges.
These solutions can be developed and implemented by anyone, from countries, companies and international organisations to communities or even creative individuals. This is what the pavilion is all about.
By empowering people to recognise their personal role – and therefore our collective role – in achieving common goals, our nation has the chance to meet its 2020 objectives within the context of the world’s 2030 agenda.
This is a global agenda. The SDGs are the result of a grassroots movement; they were conceived by individuals like you and me. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring we achieve them.
Through Expo 2020, the UAE will bring all kinds of partners to the table to enhance collaboration and unlock opportunities enabling people to achieve their goals while pursuing long-term aspirations.
Reshaping our collective future will not be easy but we have the numbers to make a real difference.
The global population is expected to surpass eight billion before 2030.
Imagine what the overall impact would be if each one of us made a small, conscious decision to change something for the better?
Fortunately, the 193 countries represented in UNGA have committed to achieving SDGs and by focusing our attention on them and engaging all of Expo 2020’s stakeholders – including millions of visitors – in their achievement, the UAE has an opportunity to accelerate our collective journey towards global change.
This is our chance to make meaningful contributions to end poverty, provide quality education, drive economic growth, improve infrastructure and reduce inequality.
We have committed to delivering the most inclusive world expo in history because, regardless of nationality, age, ability or background, we all have the power to make the world a better place.
Those who visit Expo 2020 and its Opportunity Pavilion will not only witness but experience this firsthand.
By encouraging and empowering millions of people to consider the impact of their personal choices and actions, our nation can affect positive change on a global scale.
Opportunity is a win-win game. If we succeed in making small but meaningful improvements to our own lives, the entire world stands to benefit.
Reem Al Hashimy is the UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation and director general of Expo 2020 Dubai
Expo 2020 Dubai’s Opportunity Pavilion will convey the impact of personal choices and actions