The Dutch pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai has been unveiled, designed by a consortium, made up of Expomobilia, Kossmann.dejong, V8 Architects and Witteveen+Bos. The scheme has been designed “as a closed-loop climate system in which private and business visitors will enjoy an intense sensorial experience.”
Based on the Netherlands' chosen theme of “uniting water, energy, and food” the pavilion will be built using a construction method prioritizing closed-loop circularity, local materials, and a post-use recyclable agenda.
Inside the 3700-square-meter pavilion, visitors will be treated to a sensorially-rich experience, engaging with Dutch methods of innovative water, energy, and food harvesting. Against the backdrop of Dubai’s desert climate, the Dutch pavilion will serve as a temporary biotope of warmth, silence, coolness, light, agriculture, and water.
The engineering behind the pavilion is a “temporary exercise in pragmatism” with a highly-engineered aesthetic on the exterior contrasting with a “scintillating layer of light, tactility, and refinement” on the inside inspired by the typical rhythm of the Dutch landscape.
Dubai will be the first Middle Eastern city to host a World Fair in the exhibition’s 160-year history, with more than 25 million people expected to attend the Expo throughout its six-month duration from October 2020 to April 2021.
The Expo 2020 will also feature a UK Pavilion designed by Es Devlin, a UAE Pavilion designed by Santiago Calatrava, a Luxembourg Pavilion by Metaform and The Space Factory, a Sustainability Pavilion by Grimshaw, and themed pavilions by Foster + Partners and Bjarke Ingels Group.
