Expo 2020 Dubai: See how the Czech Republic Pavilion will transform arid land into an oasis

As countries gather at Expo 2020 Dubai this October to brainstorm the ways we can conserve and consume natural resources responsibly, Czech Republic offers its own transformative technology that turns the desert into a lush haven. Designed by the Czech architecture studio Formosa AA, the two-storey pavilion is shaded by 12-metre-tall organic capillaries that are in line with the theme of Sustainability, the district out of which the country pavilion is based.

Nicknamed ‘spaghetti monster’, the overhead cluster of pipes will be part of an active exhibition presenting the Czech-invented Solar Air Water Earth Resource (S.A.W.E.R) system. This two-part solar-powered technology extracts water from desert air and treats it with subsurface cultures to cultivate arid soil.

Czech Republic Pavilion's garden is made fertile for planting by the special algae-containing water running through the capillaries. According to the pavilion's Commissioner General Jiri Frantisek Potuznik, "nobody has ever built such a large self-supporting structure from fiberglass capillaries".

Part of the 500 litres of water extracted from air per day will be treated further in a photobioreactor, where the water will be infused with algae and organically bound nutrients. It's a two-pronged process; the soil will be treated with microorganisms that are beneficial for the growth of plants to ensure the absorption of nutrients from the algae water is seamless.

For the S.A.W.E.R system to work, the water must be irrigated into the desert surface to prevent evaporation. Inside the pavilion, visitors can learn more about the S.A.W.E.R system and its inner workings through didactic animations on a wall.

An installation of tangled capillaries resembling a beating heart can be found at the centre of the pavilion. The permanent exhibition is titled ‘The Heart of the Pavilion’. It is here the pipes gather to form an aesthetic showcase as they fill a fountain.

Other attractions at the pavilion include a hand-blown glass monument called ‘Golden Rain’ designed by Maxim Velcovsky, who is the art director of the Czech-based glassmaking company, LASVIT. Velcovsky’s Expo installation is composed of 300 golden lianas that carry small glass drops of pulsating light.

Czech Republic will mark the first day of spring with its national day on March 21, 2022. The country will lead visitors to its pavilion through monumental puppets of the Czech lion, falcons and street theatre, including the best European stilt walkers. The highlight of the day will be a multimedia show called iMucha, prepared by the musician Michal Dvořák, based on the life and work of the world-famous Czech painter Alphonse Mucha.

Beef goulash with potato pancakes, Carlsbad dumplings and lamb shanks are just some of items the pavilion's restaurant, run by the Gastro Group, will dish up for visitors with a cultural Emirati touch. Even the restaurant will see the organic capillaries winding across the ceiling, connecting the exterior and the interior of the Czech Republic Pavilion.