Germany has achieved a major construction milestone with the official topping out of the country's Expo 2020 Dubai pavilion, Campus Germany, yesterday (March 4).

Some 480 tonnes of steelwork and 2,300 cu m of concrete has gone into the construction of the building taking shape on the Expo site.

Over the past 12 months, construction workers have spent some 38,350 hours helping to complete the shell of Campus Germany.

With less than eight months to go for the mega event, construction on the pavilion is moving to the next stage, said Koelnmesse GmbH, which is responsible for organising and running the German Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The exhibition design team are now all set to start finalising the content, and Koelnmesse is busy selecting staff for the pavilion.

While work gets under way on the pavilion interiors in the next few weeks, Cologne-based agency facts and fiction will start finalising the details of the exhibition.

According to senior German officials, the focus at Campus Germany will be on knowledge, research and human interaction – true to the Expo 2020 Dubai theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”.

The consortium behind the German Pavilion work includes Cologne-based facts and fiction GmbH (responsible for content, exhibition and media design); Swiss company Nussli Adunic (in charge of concept design, planning and realisation) and Berlin-based Lava – Laboratory for Visionary Architecture - is behind the architecture and spatial design.

The cultural programme, known as Culture Lab, is being put together by Frankfurt-based agency Voss+Fischer, working in a consortium with culture and media manager Mike P. Heisel, they added.

The displays, in digital and hands-on formats, will showcase German innovations and solutions related to sustainability, it stated.

Speaking at the topping out ceremony, senior German officials said this was yet another milestone in the construction phase of Campus Germany as it was happening within less than a year of the groundbreaking ceremony.

“Today’s topping-out ceremony is another milestone on our journey to ensuring Campus Germany is finished in time for the opening of the Expo,” remarked Dietmar Schmitz, Commissioner General of the German Pavilion.

“It’s a tight schedule but I’m hugely impressed by the professional approach being taken
to make sure everything is ready on time,” he added.

Lauding the achievement, Maha Al Gargawi, Vice President, Political Affairs at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: "We look forward to seeing the country’s sustainable innovations come to life at Campus Germany and make an important contribution to an unforgettable experience for Expo’s millions of visitors.”

Preparations are in full swing away from the construction site too, with Koelnmesse gearing up for Expo 2020 Dubai. Currently, the company is in the middle of the recruitment process to find 180 staff to work in the pavilion.

“Our team will have the opportunity to spend 173 days presenting Germany and its sustainability innovations and ideas in an inspiring, international environment. Being a part of this team will be an unforgettable experience for everyone,” remarked Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse, inviting candidates to apply for the host/hostess roles.

The core team for the German Pavilion is scheduled to move to Dubai at the beginning of September 2020. The completed pavilion will be handed over to Koelnmesse four weeks before the Expo launch, allowing time for the test phase and hands-on training for staff – the basis for smooth operations in and around Campus Germany and a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Expo visitors, he added.-TradeArabia News Service