Gulf Construction Online - Thematic pavilions open to the public

Expo Countdown

The iconic Terra pavilion, designed by Grimshaw Architects, sets an example for sustainable building design.

Thematic pavilions open to the public

01 February 2021

The Expo 2020 Pavilions Premiere opened last month, allowing visitors to be among the first to experience Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion.

Pavilions Premiere offers visitors a preview of Expo 2020’s Thematic Pavilions and will provide a glimpse of what is to come when Expo 2020 Dubai – the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa (MEA) and South Asia region – welcomes visitors from throughout the world from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion, opened to the public on January 22, while Alif – The Mobility Pavilion and Mission Possible – The Opportunity Pavilion, will follow later in the first quarter of 2021.

The iconic Terra pavilion, designed by world-renowned Grimshaw Architects, sets an example for sustainable building design.

Built to be net-zero for both energy and water, it features 1,055 photovoltaic panels arranged on a 130-m-wide roof canopy and atop a series of ‘Energy Trees’. The pavilion also uses cutting-edge water-reduction strategies, along with water recycling and alternative water sources.

“We are delighted to start 2021 on such a positive note, as we welcome the UAE community to be the first to experience Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion, at a moment in our history that is unparalleled, in terms of its impact on humanity,” said Reem Al Hashemy, the Director-General of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau and UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation.

“This period of rapid, unprecedented change has brought with it a pressing need to rethink the way we exist, and is further accelerated by a global health crisis that has touched each and every individual on Earth. While 2020 may be remembered as a year that changed us forever, it has also given us a tremendous opportunity to come together as a global society and find answers to our most pressing challenges,” she stated.