Expo 2020 Dubai opened its doors on 1 October 2021 for a six-month mega-event that aims to showcase innovation that tackles the world’s challenges.
This year’s event consists of 192 Country Pavilions, with each Pavilion representing the cultural experience of their respective country.
They also aim to showcase innovations developed in their countries that help address humanities challenges.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Pavilion managed to break three world records at this event:
- Longest interactive water feature: measuring 32.234 m
- Largest interactive lighting display: consisting of 7,798 lights
- Largest LED mirror screen display: measuring 1302.5 m²
The digital water feature, that looks somewhat like a curtain, is fixed with interactive points that allows visitors to influence the images and displays on the installation.
The interactive lighting display on the ground features 7,798 LED lights which represents an art exhibition titled "Vision". This display is accompanied by an audio-visual interpretation of the kingdom’s culture and artists.
Finally, the largest LED mirror screen display, at 1302.5 m², stretches through the pavilion. The building is balanced at a 45 degree angle, with the underside of the building creating a display that resembles the sky.
The building aims to reflect the country’s theme of "The Sky is the Limit".
The interactive display narrates the story of the kingdom’s past, present and future.
The kingdom’s pavilion is the second largest on site and is becoming one of the main attractions in Expo 2020 Dubai.
Not only is the building architecturally impressive, it is also a green building.
It was awarded a Platinum rating for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). This means that the structure uses much less energy and resources to function that a traditional one.
41 percent of the materials used to build the structure were sustainable, and 82 percent of the entire construction waste was recycled.
The record-breaking pavilion also hosts a café that features traditional dishes from all around Saudi Arabia, as well as coffee from locally grown beans.
The building was designed by Seville-based architects Boris Micka Associates and constructed by contractor ALEC.
Related Articles
