Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Singapore-based, WOHA Architects’ Singapore Pavilion at World Expo 2020, Dubai demonstrates how to coexist with Nature.
Building on the theme of “Nature, Nurture, Future,” the pavilion integrates Nature, innovation, and architecture, capturing Singapore’s vision of becoming the City in Nature.
Designed with Salad Dressing Landscape Architects, the pavilion is designed as a net-zero structure, utilizing the abundance of sun available in the desert region, producing its own electricity with its solar canopy.
Designed to resemble an oasis in the desert, the structure aims to emulate Singapore’s success of integrating Nature within its small footprint.
As a mirror image, the pavilion sits on one of the smallest plots of the expo but works hard to create a big impact.
Heavy landscaping is achieved through layering of spaces.
Visitors get to take an experiential journey through the suspended walkways as they meander through the pavilion’s multiple levels while being surrounded by verdant palms, trees, shrubs and vibrant orchids.
The pavilion is designed with a central aim to indulge people in a biophilic environment and to prove that even in such extreme temperatures it is possible to build in partnership with Nature.
The canopy walk resembles walking along the forest floor and quite literally takes the visitors to the top of the canopy to the ‘open sky market’ platform, meant as a place for congregation and engagement.
Protected from the elements topped by the solar canopy, this is where people come together and collaborate.
The pavilion also uses an efficient solar-osmosis desalination system to meet its water needs.
To create a net-zero building, the architecture has integrated several passive cooling strategies to make the pavilion comfortable for the extreme Dubai weather.
These strategies include natural cross-ventilation, sun-shading, and planting, which have been implemented to create a comfortable climate for visitors to enjoy and plants to thrive in.
Hosting 170 varieties of plants that will grow over the period, the pavilion plays an important part in providing measurable ecosystem services like reducing solar heat, sequestration of greenhouse gases, reduction of other pollutants such as PM10 particles, oxygen production, rainwater remediation while providing habitat to the animals.
The Singapore pavilion showcases the possibility of building in tandem with Nature, creating self-reliant, self-sufficient structures and cities.
The architects hope that these strategies can be adapted to suit different climates, geographies and possibly be scaled up from city blocks to a city level.
Project: Singapore Pavilion at World Expo 2020
Architects: WOHA
Client: Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Singapore
Landscape Architects: Salad Dressing Landscape Architects (SALD)
