Morocco Pavilion’s earthy Jenga-like façade buckles down on carbon footprint at Expo 2020 Dubai
The seven-storey pavilion will be absorbed into the District 2020 smart city of the future
Dubai: Designed to allow visitors to discover and rediscover, the Morocco Pavilion will offer a glimpse of how the Kingdom has re-invented itself, now fully committed to a sustainable future for coming generations. The pavilion is situated in the Opportunity District, participating under the theme of ‘Legacies for the future—from inspiring origins…to sustainable progress’.
“It is our dynamism and the power of our commitment that we wish to present to the world, by showing a Morocco that is beyond the limits of our imagination…,” says Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Commissioner General of Morocco Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
It is our dynamism and the power of our commitment that we wish to present to the world, by showing a Morocco that is beyond the limits of our imagination…
As part of Expo’s sustainable legacy, the pavilion will stay on after the event in the heart of Dubai’s District 2020, a model, human-centric global community for the future that will evolve from Expo 2020.
Traditional Moroccan architecture
On an area of 3,500 square metres, the Morocco Pavilion designed by OUALALOU + CHOI (O+C) architecture firm proposes an experience that is at once informative, immersive, and participative.
The visitor will explore Morocco on a stroll around the central patio, which leads to 13 rooms on seven levels, each presenting a unique environment: a didactic scenography and an inspirational artistic experience that will be narrated in an attractive and interactive manner, engaging the body as well as the mind.
Resembling a game of Jenga, the pavilion is an earthen construction inspired by ancestral traditions made up of 22 stacked structures. The architecture places it in the 21st-century zeitgeist, where pressing issues of sustainability and reducing environmental footprint are central.
The Morocco Pavilion will also house a conference room, B2B space, VIP lounge, restaurant, street food vendor, tea shop and a boutique.
Cultural programming for visitors and Moroccans alike
For six months, Morocco will offer a cultural and artistic programme in the heart of its pavilion as well as at various other central sites of Expo 2020 Dubai. This programme will include exhibitions, performances, spectacles, concerts, entertainment, and shows that celebrate the cultural diversity of all regions of the Kingdom.
The Morocco Pavilion will belong to all Moroccans, and social networks are even now sharing a rich programme of participative content to raise their awareness to engage the broad Moroccan public from home and abroad.
On Morocco’s Expo-allotted national day, December 26, 2021, the Kingdom will roll out a particularly festive and inclusive programme, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the culture and artistic effervescence of the country.
Economic and scientific programming
Whether within its pavilion or at other Expo 2020 Dubai spaces, Morocco’s diverse programme of conferences, workshops, and meeting events around unifying themes will address the great challenges of our era, such as innovation, environmental responsibility, climate change, the cities of the future and sustainable agriculture.
The Kingdom sees this as an opportunity to share its ambitious vision, to focus on its tangible accomplishments and to share its particular know-how with Expo visitors and participants.
Pavilion business experience
As a unique global exchange platform, Expo 2020 Dubai also favours the creation and reinforcement of partnerships, access to new markets and investment development. Equipped with a dedicated VIP lounge and event spaces, the Morocco Pavilion will transform into an area for B2B exchanges among institutional and economic decision-makers from all parts of the world.
- The writer is an intern with Gulf News.