Dubai: The winners of the architectural competition to design the theme pavilions for the Dubai Expo 2020 have been revealed by Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Expo Higher Committee, in partnership with developer Emaar Properties.
Thirteen global architectural firms took part in the competition, launched in July 2015 by Emaar Properties on behalf of Expo 2020. The competition sought to identify the designs for the three theme pavilions of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability, under the Expo’s theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.
The three pavilions will be centrepieces that showcase the latest ideas, innovations and developments.
“After careful study and consideration, three designs stood out, amid tough competition, as great future structures that will mark our Expo as exceptional,” Shaikh Ahmad said in a statement.
The winning design for the Opportunity Pavilion was submitted by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), a group of architects, designers and builders based in Copenhagen and New York. BIG is currently working on the design of a new headquarters for Google.
London-based Foster + Partners submitted the winning proposal for the Mobility Pavilion. Their design drew on designs including Dubai’s The Index building, and the master plan for Masdar City.
And the winning design for the Sustainability Pavilion, which will become a long-term ‘cluster’ centre promoting innovative technologies, was submitted by Grimshaw Architects. The firm designed the Eden project in Cornwall, UK.
The three pavilions will form centrepieces of the two square kilometre Expo site, surrounding the central Al Wasl meeting plaza at Expo 2020. They will showcase the latest ideas, innovations and developments.
A key criterion for the competition was ensuring that the designs embodied one of Expo’s core themes and had the flexibility and longevity to live on as landmarks and functional structures after the Expo is complete in 2021.
The six-month Expo is expected to attract 25 million visitors and will run from October 2020 to April 2021. It will be located in Dubai Trade Centre — Jebel Ali, a 438 hectare site equidistant from the centres of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
