Dubaï
United Arab Emirates
Serge Ferrari Group chosen to supply roofing material for the Opportunity Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020
ABOUT
From 1 October 2021 until 31 March 2022, Dubai is hosting the World Expo on the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.
This year, architects from all around the world have once again outdone themselves to beguile visitors with singular, creative and inspiring venues. Each of the event’s constructions explores three fundamental notions: ‘Mobility’, ‘Sustainability’, and ‘Opportunity’, reflecting the major challenges facing mankind in the decades to come.
With its unique design, the Opportunity Pavilion is no doubt one of the most iconic structures presented at Dubai Expo 2020. Dubbed ‘Mission Possible’, it was designed by AGi Architects, a practice cofounded by Joaquín Pérez-Goicoechea and Nasser B. Abulhasan which has garnered more than forty international architecture prizes since its inception. Based in Spain and Kuwait, AGi Architects has developed an approach and practice based on four pillars that subtly inform each and every one of their designs: research, innovation, an existential element, as well as an environmental and social dimension.
Guided by these principles, AGi Architects has devised and designed the Opportunity Pavilion by drawing inspiration from the concept of a ‘town square’ with all of its geographical, historical and anthropological implications — the town square as a place where people gather, trade and interact. With this perspective in mind, the pavilion was intended as a multidisciplinary and multicultural meeting ground, a universal hub entirely dedicated to collective action and emphasizing how every single one of us can contribute to change in our own way: a common thread that unites the entire project. The vision that shaped the pavilion was to celebrate small steps, individual initiatives which, combined, can have a tremendous impact on the planet and the whole of mankind.
‘We wanted visitors to experience and explore the notion of ‘Opportunity’ themselves. Our project revolves around people, which is why it takes the form of a large central town square, which serves as a meeting point for human interaction. […] It is also an environmental solution that provides shade and generates air flows for visitors seeking rest, resulting in an environment conducive to conversation, sharing, raising awareness and contributing to the necessary changes for our planet.’ — Joaquín Pérez-Goicoechea and Nasser B. Abulhasan
In addition to the existential concept, the pavilion’s design aims to recreate a real-life environment, capture an actual open-air town square. The structures that form the upper portion of the building have been conceived and arranged in such a way as to evoke the vision of clouds drifting lazily across the sky, floating high above the visitors assembled below in their shade. Jutting out from the main envelope, 32 meters above ground level, the uppermost element serves as a bold awning structure challenging gravity itself — an evocation of clouds and a metaphor for the dreams we all aspire to fulfill.
These so-called ‘clouds’ are actually monumental metal frame structures covered with about 26,000 sqm of Serge Ferrari Tenseo Frontside 381 fabric. This material combines creative versatility with high performance to create solutions that are not only innovative, but also have the potential to dramatically highlight the building’s personality and singularity. The various structures also incorporate carefully placed lighting, which interacts artfully with the colour and transparency of the material to give each element a light and ethereal feel, almost a surreal quality.
‘The colourful elements overlap, creating layers, playing with transparency, light, shadows and colour. The clouds are in constant transformation depending on the different ways people view them in space and changes in light and colour throughout the day.’
The Opportunity Pavilion has, of course, received much praise for its stunning aesthetic, but this should not obscure the technical feat it required. Although the material’s colour, texture and sustainable design were important criteria in choosing it, it was high resistance that was the decisive factor.
‘The main issue for the material with this roof structure was wind load and extra loads due to the accumulation of sand. Serge Ferrari’s membrane allowed us to minimize loads on the structure.’
Project participants :
Architect: AGi architects
General Contractor: ASGC Construction Company
Membrane Fabrication and installation: Gulfab
Copyright: Expo 2020 Dubai / Suneesh Sudhakaran
We think the Opportunity Pavilion is a building that is iconic, yet simple, welcoming and perfectly aligned with the event’s theme and location. It celebrates and strengthens connections within the community, a community that is proudly and undeniably multicultural.
