20.03.2020
One of the centerpiece buildings of Expo 2020 Dubai, the Sustainability Pavilion brings a unique design with demonstrable strategies for harvesting sunlight and water in pursuit of net zero goals.
Our pursuit, and subsequent thinking about the Sustainability Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai brings me back to our British Pavilion at Expo 1992 in Seville. That national pavilion was procured in a similar competition fashion, and it was with similarly enormous excitement and celebration that we undertook the project. The competition concept was entirely based on a response to the climate in Seville, widely regarded as Spain’s hottest city. We thought that we should recognise that people had being living there quite happily for centuries without the huge expense of cooling systems and air-conditioning. We resolved to find out how they had managed. We quickly saw that the massive masonry walls of the older buildings played an important part in modifying the huge variation in temperature from night time to day time. We also saw that air movement was carefully contrived by having large doorways leading into small courtyards so that cool air from the narrow, shaded streets was drawn up through the courtyard and out of the open top. A third factor was the use of water – not just the apparent cooling effect of a small fountain in each courtyard surrounded by plants and ferns, but also the psychological effect of having running water.
A concept sketch by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw illustrates his original vision for the British Pavilion at Expo 1992 Seville as a moderator of climate.
The aim for our design was to try to make life bearable for the visitors to Expo 1992, which was held at the hottest time of the year. However, we also wanted to do this with modern materials and, most importantly, using the minimum amount of energy. We wished to explore a new and emerging architecture language that was shaped by performative systems and a drive to a more sustainable future.
Now, 25 years later, we find ourselves facing similar challenges and mounting familiar aspirations as we develop the designs for the Sustainability Pavilion in Dubai. Amidst comparably challenging climate conditions, we have sought to design a forward-thinking building that’s both responsive to and representative of the culture and climate in which it will function. It is with great personal pride and excitement that I look forward to this next milestone in creativity advances towards completion, reviving some of our best thinking, infused with the latest knowledge and technology we have.
Visitors to the British Pavilion enter via a ramp that ascends along the water wall façade where water cascades into a pool below.
In October 2020, Dubai and the United Arab Emirates will be on the global stage under the gaze of the international media as the World Expo opens to great ac-claim. At the heart of the Expo, the Sustainability Pavilion is an ambitious and innovative centrepiece whose design and contents will captivate the world. The pavilion is an opportunity for Dubai and the United Arab Emirates to lead a new approach to sustainability and conservation, showcasing interesting and innovative methodologies of adapting to ecology and climate while promoting long-term solutions for society. As Dubai has emerged as a hub for global exchange as well as a city of wonders, the Expo and the Sustainability Pavilion offer an unparalleled opportunity to add depth and dimension to the city by firmly establishing a stance on leadership for sustainability and planetary stewardship. Not only will the pavilion debut with great fanfare to fascinate and enlighten millions of Expo visitors from across the globe, it will also live on as an internationally recognised institution. This will extend the pavilion’s reach beyond just a visitor’s destination to include exhibition and research facilities where science and the public intersect, simultaneously illuminating the wonders of our fragile planet and the potential that our future earth holds.
Grimshaw has developed a design and programme for the pavilion that we believe to be inventive, pointed in its mission and, above all, inspiring. We have sought to achieve this through a quantum leap in thinking, designing a first-of-its-kind demonstration building that is completely self-sustaining and capable of generating its own power and water supply. What we strive for – and what is conspicuous in our best work – is the moment a brilliant idea emerges that will drive the identity of a good project to somewhere extraordinary, challenging and completely unique. This dedication to exploration and innovation has allowed us to develop memorable temporary and permanent fixtures for cultural organisations and bespoke events of international significance across the globe. The vision we have realised for the Sustainability Pavilion is representative of the ingenuity and innovation we have harnessed amongst our design team in pursuit of a Sustainability Pavilion for Expo 2020 that will inspire wonder and delight, capture the imagination and offer the promise of possibility.
The entry to the Sustainability Pavilion reveals its iconic presence, dominated by the central shading structure and animated by a series of “energy trees” depicted in the foreground.
While we seek to highlight strategies and opportunities relative to Dubai’s native landscape and climate, it is important to note that populations are facing similar issues the world over. By incorporating high levels of new technology that are inspiring, diversifiable, highly recyclable and reasonable to maintain, we will be raising awareness about the environmental problems we face in this century and inspire people with solutions that can efficiently address them on a multigenerational timescale.
To present and illuminate the issues at hand, through both innovative architectural design and the provision of timely and effective exhibition content, Grimshaw has assembled both a design team, under-pinned by the engineering expertise of BuroHappold, as well as an Advisory Group Committee composed of some of the brightest and most ingenious minds practicing in fields directly relevant to sustainable development and environmental conservation. This committee, derived from some of the world’s leading research institutions including NASA, the California Academy of Sciences and Eden Project, has ensured that the pavilion design and its content are absolutely at the cutting edge of thinking and accurate in their interpretations and assertions.
Winding pathways lead into and around the Sustainability Pavilion through a landscape derived from local vegetation and climate-appropriate flora.
The central design thrust for the pavilion is to become an exemplar of sustainable design informing, inspiring and empowering visitors to make effective change in their lifestyles as well as becoming generally more aware of the still unfolding interdependence of the global, regional and local ecological systems (including micro-biological systems within us) upon which we depend, support, and are ourselves enmeshed. More than a static experience, the pavilion will retain, and even elevate, its relevance long past opening day. The ultimate goal is a lasting standard-bearer for sustainable living, sitting in harmony with the environmental context that frames it. However, to merely sustain is perhaps to tread water; the Sustainability Pavilion has greater ambitions. To ensure lasting relevance, the pavilion, its occupants, and its natural context must thrive.
At the heart of that vision, the pavilion will not only educate and delight visitors but also serve as a demonstration building and living landmark to sustain-ability. Sustainability is not just an aspiration of the project, but implicit in its de-sign and content. Every aspect of the pavilion is being built from the ground up with sustainability as the guiding principle. The esteemed Advisory Group Committee served to holistically define that principle from a diverse range of approaches and fields. With such high aspirations to integrate sustainability throughout the design to deliver positive environmental, social and human benefits, a clear and coherent sustainability strategy has been implemented which provides a clear set of goals and path forward. At the centre of this strategy is a sustainability framework through which the detailed and advanced knowledge of specialists can be integrated to deliver the vision. The framework has provided a transparent means for those engaged with the project to understand the various goals and targets, how they have been defined and ultimately the strategies developed to achieve these.
The central courtyard of the pavilion is arranged around the central structure, offering multiple levels from which to view the pavilion’s architecture as well as providing access to the pavilion’s exhibits.
The building also aims to act as a living laboratory that will inspire visitors to live more sustainably.
Energy will be generated through the highest specification photovoltaic panels available arranged on a large roof canopy and atop a series of “energy trees” in the landscape. The panels are carefully placed at the best possible angle to maximise output. The roof canopy pattern follows principles of nature to maximise the area of solar panels and allow automated panel cleaning systems to be deployed. The 18 bespoke energy trees will also be placed around the building to provide shade in ex-ternal spaces and will track the path of the sun to generate as much power as possible.
Energy will be saved by burying much of the occupied spaces below the ground and providing thick, insulated walls with minimal glazing. Simultaneously, the solar roof acts as a giant shade to reduce the suns heating effect. Energy usage will be carefully controlled through intelligent systems that sense occupancy and adjust lighting, display screens and ventilation requirements appropriately.
Energy will be saved by burying much of the occupied spaces below the ground and providing thick, insulated walls with minimal glazing. Simultaneously, the solar roof acts as a giant shade to reduce the suns heating effect. Energy usage will be carefully controlled through intelligent systems that sense occupancy and adjust lighting, display screens and ventilation requirements appropriately.
Water will be generated from all available sources on site including the humid air, salty ground water extracted from near the surface and recycled water. These techniques are combined with water saving measures ensuring that water demand is 80% less than a typical building and the remaining water demand is provided from on-site sources. The water system includes plans to create unique dew-harvesting water trees, passive sunlight water disinfection systems, and natural reed-bed water filtration techniques. We are working with major research universities to develop a new approach to the generation of water using innovative, metal-organic frame-work chemicals that can capture moisture from the air, entirely powered by the sun. These environmental strategies will lend legitimacy and notoriety to the research institute that will live on in the pavilion’s legacy mode.
Gabion walls frame an entry passage to the pavilion leading visitors to the exhibitions within.
A critical component to the pavilion beyond its outward architectural expression is its content, an element responsible for creating the visitor experience and a primary driver in our design thinking. Following on the exterior architecture that is finely tuned to local circumstances, the exhibition programme we have developed leverages the incredible biodiversity of the region and the striking ways in which nature has adapted to harsh climates and challenging conditions. The United Arab Emirates is a rich source of natural inspiration, bringing together a range of ecologies and opportunities. Both precious biodiversity and a wide range of landscapes and coastal habitats are expansive sources of inspiration and nature’s ingenuity. Efficiencies and strategies for survival developed by plants and animals can often be emulated in pursuit of architecture that is both responsive and at home in its environment while educating guests on the incredible ways in which nature meets the challenges of the natural environment.
The pavilion has been developed in a holistic approach that includes its immediate landscape and landscaping treatments. The gardens surrounding our pavilion design are an integral part of the visitor experience, both experiential and functional, setting the stage for the exhibition contents within and creating gathering areas that will manage and distribute crowds while providing retail, food and beverage opportunities. Sited in a prominent location, the pavil-ion structure works in tandem with the considered landscape of demonstration gardens, winding pathways and shaded enclaves to create an aura of magic punctuated by the sights, smells and tactile opportunities of nature. In the legacy mode, the gardens will remain critical to a project of international notoriety and importance, extending the ethos and mission of the institution inside to the immediate surrounds, properly establishing the stage for an institution of import and innovation.
An exploded axonometric drawing of the roof canopy structure and photovoltaic array.
That the pavilion is designed to perpetuate beyond the life of the Expo is, in and of itself, a sustainable strategy. Longevity is critical to the sustainability of architecture, reducing the usage of resources over time and imbuing a sense of adaptability that allows for future flexibility and purposeful reprogramming. This also presents a challenge, as any time a structure is erected for one purpose followed by a transition to another, a careful balance between cost and value must be sought. As Expo 2020 Dubai endeavors to establish itself as a cultural leader not only during the tenure of the event but over the life of the Sustainability Pavilion architecture, it is important to be represented by design that is both functional and revelatory, utilising technology and inventive design to deliver a distinct architectural presence driven by the message it intends to convey.
Grimshaw is thrilled to be participating in Expo 2020 Dubai and to have the opportunity to deliver innovative and exciting architecture underpinned by a message of hope and potential for the future.
Cooling with Sunlight
by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw