01 March 2020

Finland has celebrated the topping out of the country’s sustainable pavilion – Snow Cape – at the Expo 2020 Dubai site located within the Mobility District.

The concept, design, planning and execution work have been undertaken by Helsinki-based architectural firm JKMM Architects and Swiss construction specialist Expomobilia. Finnish event management firm Factor Nova, UAE-based expo consulting company Beyond Limits, and leading US live content creator Five Currents are also part of the project.

The construction milestone was celebrated at a ceremony held at the Expo 2020 Dubai site in the presence of a Finnish delegation comprising Minister of Economic Affairs, Mika Lintilä, Commissioner General of Finland at Expo 2020 Dubai, Severi Keinälä, and Finland’s ambassador to the UAE, Marianne Nissilä.

With this milestone, Finland has become one of the first countries to top out its Expo 2020 Dubai pavilion.

 On the new pavilion, Keinälä said: “The main theme of Snow Cape and Finland’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai is ‘Finland – Sharing Future Happiness’. Finnish happiness is based on the symbiosis of people, nature and technology. This deep connection is the origin of the quality of everyday Finnish life and the Finland pavilion communicates this happiness by taking visitors on a journey through Finland’s key strengths, which are nature and sustainability, education and know-how and functionality and wellbeing.”

 “We want visitors to Snow Cape to immerse themselves in our deep connection to nature and sustainability. The values of happiness, circular economy and innovations are being showcased throughout the pavilion and exhibition design,” he added.

 JKMM Architects, which was also the architect of Finland’s pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010, has designed a simple yet functional structure, ensuring accessibility, openness and simple people flow remain at the core of the architectural concept.

 Teemu Kurkela, partner and architect at JKMM Architects, explained the design concept: “In designing the pavilion, we sought to bring together Finland’s icy landscapes with the culture of the UAE. In Finnish, it is named Lumi, which means snow and the pavilion was inspired by the white blanket of snow that covers the Finnish landscape every winter. The main entrance was designed to elicit thoughts of a traditional Arabian tent, seamlessly integrating features from both cultures.”

Finland was the first country to create a road map to a circular economy and it has stayed true to these principles in the design and construction of Snow Cape, he stated.

Keinälä pointed out that sustainability had been a guiding theme throughout the design and construction process.

“With the exception of a limited number of Finnish materials being imported, Snow Cape is being built almost entirely using material from the local market, thereby reducing the environmental burden caused by unnecessary logistics and transportation,” he explained.

 According to him, Finnish components and materials used in the 1,867-sq-m pavilion play a significant role in its design. Soft and light façade fabrics are strongly contrasted by the hard, brushed concrete of the entrance deck. Water in dark lakes and shallow water pools will create gentle sounds and cool the air around them. The entrance, which spans the entire height of the pavilion, provides a cool, intermediate space to prepare visitors as they embark on their journey through the exhibition, stated Keinälä.

“Using hard, granite flooring, we will lead visitors to the central gorge, where they will be embraced by the warmth of gently curved wooden surfaces, acting as a serene space for visitors to relax,” he noted. “The simple design of Snow Cape minimises unnecessary additional cladding, enabling us to reduce the overall use of materials,” he added.

 Keinälä revealed that 80 to 85 per cent of the materials used to build the Finnish pavilion would be recycled and reused after the mega event.

 A number of Finnish partner companies have been actively involved in the construction of the Finland’s pavilion. For example, the pavilion’s elevators and sliding doors for the exhibition and VIP areas will be provided by Kone and will be repurposed following the Expo.

Halton Group will provide an air ventilation system inside the main exhibition and gorge areas based on low-velocity air diffusers, assuring cool and fresh air in the human-level zone up to 3 m high.

 Dietmar Kautschitz, chief customer officer at Expomobila, said: “We have deployed 35 full-time team members onsite and we are very pleased to say works are completely on-schedule. To date, we have recorded 26,606 safe man-hours and almost 40 per cent of the construction work has been completed.”

Work on Snow Cape is scheduled to be completed in the summer, he added.  

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