Czech Republic receives its pavilion plot at EXPO 2020 Dubai site
13. 3. 2019
On the 13th of March 2019, the Czech Republic became one of the first of 190 participating countries to break ground for the construction of its pavilion at EXPO 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The two-storey building, which will be built based on the design from the architectural studio Formosa AA, will be located next to the entrance gate to the Sustainability district and it will offer an exhibition representing Czech scientific discoveries and innovations.
“The pavilion itself won’t only be an exhibition space, but it will be a distinct exhibit in itself, “says Jiří František Potužník, the Commissioner General of Czech participation at EXPO 2020 Dubai,“ the formidable twelve meter large organic structure growing around the building is exceptional both from an architectural and a construction standpoint – no one has ever built such a large self-supporting object from fiberglass capillaries.”
Among others, his excellency Jiří Slavík, the Czech ambassador to Abu Dhabi, was present at the ceremony, as well as members of the EXPO 2020 Dubai organising committee.
Maha Al Gargawi, Director, International Participants at EXPO 2020 Dubai, said: “We congratulate our friends from the Czech Republic on completing this important landmark on their journey to EXPO 2020 Dubai. We are excited to see the Czech Republic pavilion take shape and look forward to enjoying its impressive design and engaging content during the EXPO.”
The supplier consortium of MCI Prague s.r.o., iBridge STH and Lamirada brought light construction equipment and workers to the site on the very same day the site was received, and they immediately began the terrain works.
“At first sight, the structure of the pavilion combines two different parts. The simple mass of the pavilion is complemented by the organic structure of the tubes, which grows through the interior and creates a major visual element winding through the entire pavilion, thus becoming the expression of the EXPO 2020 theme, ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’,” says Jan Tůma from the studio Formosa AA.
The builders should hand over the completed pavilion to the Czech Republic by the end of 2019, so that the installation of the S.A.W.E.R. system, which includes 5 Czech patents, and will create water using solar energy and cultivate the desert, could begin as early as January 2020. The Czech Republic pavilion will cost 85 million crowns – the total budget of its participation at EXPO 2020 will exceed 280 million crowns.
EXPO 2020 Dubai will run from the 20th of October 2020 until the 10th of April 2021 and is expected to receive 25 million visits, with 70% of its visitors anticipated to come from outside the UAE.
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