THE GRAND EXPOSITION

The daily drive to the Dubai South site is an emotional experience for Marjan Faraidooni.

The chief experience officer has been a member of the Expo core team, and oversees the development and operations of theme districts.

“How I feel when I drive in to work and see this pavilion from afar is a mixture of emotions. One of them is really this overwhelming emotion of being lucky to have been part of this whole journey of bringing this pavilion to life,” she told The National.

“When I drive in, it’s nothing short of being honoured to have been part of it, to see it come up and to shepherd it to what it is today.”

In 2015, a global search began for designers and architects to visualise signature buildings that would embody the spirit of the Expo.

Organisers sifted through dozens of drawings that would capture the imagination of millions of visitors.

The site was divided into three districts to represent the Expo’s key themes: Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity, with dozens of country pavilions scattered among the petal-shaped zones.

Plans for the Mobility and Sustainability structures, which will remain after the Expo, began six years ago.

“We received brilliant proposals from all over the world,” said Ms Faraidooni.

“The sketch we received from Foster + Partners really stood out because of the shape of the building.

“It caught my attention because it indicated movement. The material they were going to use was reminiscent of a lot of elements that are related to mobility, such as planes and cars.

“I just see something that is infinite in its movement and really representative of this theme.”

Reflections in stainless-steel rims

The ribbed shape of Alif, the Mobility Pavilion, resembles a giant fidget spinner.

Gerard Evenden, senior executive partner and head of studio at Foster + Partners, said the reflective steel frame was designed to capture surrounding images and movement of people.

“The material, we’re using polished stainless steel on the facade, runs around horizontally, evoking fenders of vehicles from the past and aircraft wings,” he said.

“What those mirrored elements do is that they will pick up the environment around them. They will pick up movement in that environment and mobility will be depicted in the facade of the building.”

“For those people who don’t get in the building, there is an incredible experience on the outside. So even if you can only just walk past, you will get something from the Mobility Pavilion.”

Organisers have released little information about the building, wishing to keep the details of its interior under wraps until closer to the opening.

World’s largest passenger lift

Evenden, head of studio at Foster + Partners, had worked with the UAE on previous Expos. The British company designed a striking exhibit of sand dunes in Shanghai in 2010 and giant sand walls at the Milan Expo in 2015.

It also designed the earth-toned Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi and the Middle East’s largest Apple store, in The Dubai Mall.

“What became clear from the beginning of Shanghai was a desire from the UAE to make their pavilions sustainable and to think about not wasting buildings,” he said.

“So to then be given one of the permanent pavilions in the Dubai Expo and to be told, the challenge this time is to design it so that it could be modified for legacy – that was the next step on the journey.”

He said the team had to source building materials that could handle the UAE’s harsh weather and design the building in a way that prevented visitors from having to queue.

“Allowing an easy flow of people through the building was paramount in our thinking,” he said.

The roof was fitted with solar panels.

The pavilion also houses the world’s largest passenger lift, which can transport more than 160 people at a time.

From the higher level, they can move down through a series of interconnected galleries.

Evenden said the UAE presented an incredible opportunity for designers.

“The country very clearly embraces technology. It’s a country that is looking at the future and not at the past,” he said.

“For designers, that opens up all sorts of opportunities for thinking and that is being reflected in the buildings and urban environments now being created.”

What happens after Expo ends?

Once the Expo ends in March 2022, the site will be transformed into a residential and commercial neighbourhood known as District 2020.

The Mobility pavilion will be used for exhibitions and as office space.

A portion of the site will be become a research and technology hub.

Unlike previous world fairs, Evenden said, the Expo’s legacy “has been thought of from day one”.
About 80 per cent of the infrastructure will live on after the six-month event, said Ms Faraidooni.

“When we thought about the buildings, we automatically thought about what these buildings would be doing after the event is over. For this particular one – Mobility – the legacy is very flexible. We have worked closely with the architects on a design that allows us to shift and repurpose it as a commercial office building,” she said.

“We will be keeping this building with its exhibition for many years after the Expo so that people can continue to visit it. We are also planning to complement it with potentially temporary exhibitions that would address the theme of mobility in the future.

“We plan to have it remain to be an inspirational space for visitors to continue to visit when they come to Dubai and the UAE.”

Ghaf trees inspire high-tech project

The futuristic design was inspired by the resilient ghaf, the UAE’s national tree, which remains evergreen in the desert.

“Our design work often draws inspiration from nature and here we were inspired by the majesty of the ghaf tree, with its deep tap root and the shade it provides,” Mr Whalley said.

To meet net-zero goals, the architects developed a new concept called the energy tree.

It was inspired by the dragon tree of Socotra. Each unit is fitted with a motorised pivot gadget allowing the panels to tilt as they track the sun through the day.

To keep the “trees” light, they were constructed from composite carbon fibre, a material typically used in the aerospace industry.

Between the outstretched canopy and the energy trees, the pavilion will harness more than 4 gigawatt hours per year of alternative energy, which could power a Nissan Leaf hatchback halfway to Mars.

The sophisticated canopy and advanced technology for the trees were manufactured in Dubai.

Of the 18 trees that capture energy from the sun, one uses humidity in the atmosphere to create water.

The structure is connected to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park, to which excess energy is diverted to be used in the Expo site or outside the area.

How to convince the masses to live more sustainably

Convincing people to change their habits in place for more sustainable practices is no easy feat.

To achieve this, content creators made sure to include relatable, emotional stories alongside information, all while bearing in mind that visitors would move quickly and visit several pavilions over the space of a few hours.

“The biggest challenge with sustainability is that it often comes off as dry and statistical. It’s a subject that is so important and yet, people tend to glaze over when you talk about the nuts and bolts,” said Hennes.

“What can I do that will really be useful to somebody with a half-hour visit, that it is going to change the way they see their place in the world?”

Expo will invite people to experience the world as it is, use their imagination, and prompt thinking points.

One zone will ask visitors questions, including ‘Would you rather live out your life in a job you don’t like that pays a lot of money? Or would you rather do something satisfying that does not pay a lot?’ or ‘Would you rather never eat meat again or never eat a vegetable again?’

Images of a burning house and flooded home encourage visitors to consider their priorities, asking them what they would save in such a scenario.

Answers from the public are displayed in stacks of drawers and show that family and memories were most chosen over objects of monetary value.

It is hoped exhibitions such as this will spark conversations that question a wasteful consumer culture.

“To solve the problem that sustainability can be academic, we chose to take people on a journey through their own emotions, their own relationship with the natural world, to explore the way we exploit nature,” Hennes said.

“It creates an emotionally driven environmental journey.”

Hope for the future

Ms Faraidooni said the Expo’s message of hope holds different meaning for different age groups and that the World Fair will have something for everyone.

“If you come during the day, you can see butterflies, you can hear bugs, caterpillars, all part of the natural environment of this pavilion. But you can also experience these really magnificent energy trees and see solar panels very close to you,” she said.

“So come on over if you can. And I guarantee, it would be, at minimum, an enjoyable time for you and your family. Hopefully, you will gain so much out of it and you will come out of it inspired to take action. More importantly, feel you are part of this beautiful planet and that you need to play your role to protect it.”