Expo Dubai kicks off, between mobility and sustainability

EXPO DUBAI - It bears the name of the date 2020, but will take place from October 2021 to March 2022 Expo Dubai 2020. Despite the year of delay has opened its doors and is the first major international event after the stop imposed by the pandemic.

Expo Dubai 2020

With the accompaniment of the voice of Andrea Bocelli and other famous singers on October 1, 2021, Expo Dubai opened the doors of all the installations. There are 192 participating countries with an audience expectation of 25 million expanded in 6 months. It is the first major international event to take place during the pandemic period, but the awards to be praised are quite different. It is in fact the largest Universal Exhibition held so far and the first to take place in the region ME.NA.SA (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia).

Each pavilion, installation, event and everything that is present in the exhibition focuses on three main themes: opportunity, mobility and sustainability under the thread of "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future". The purpose of the Expo is not only to show architectural beauty, but to bring organizers and visitors to reflect on important problems and to study together the possible solutions. All this taking advantage of an exposure site equal to 4.38 square kilometers.

The Italian Pavilion

Among the excellences presented at Expo Dubai is the Italian Pavilion. Realized thanks to 70 institutional partners, more than 50 sponsoring companies, 15 Regions and 30 Universities will present during the 182 two days of opening numerous events and events under the motto Beauty unites people, motto of the opening of the Exhibition. Not only the main issues, opportunities, mobility and sustainability are also addressed at 360 years. The way in which the structure of the pavilion itself has been conceived and realized is already part of a circular economy. The walls are made with recycled plastic wire, fireproof; the paint used are obtained with the remains of coffee and orange peel. The project by architect Italo Rota is designed to consume CO2 and never be abandoned.

The cover of the pavilion, realized from Fincantieri, is constituted by three overturned hulls that they reproduce the Italian flag and that after March they will be put in sea and will cover the naval ways for all the world. Although Rota and Carlo Ratti, another author of the project, state:

"In reality, the three hulls were so much appreciated that the Emirates could hold them longer and in any case they are the example of an architecture that is increasingly transformable and changeable over time. In practice it is a circular and installation architecture, completely removable and reusable".

The ingenuity and innovation of our pavilion are mainly hidden behind the ventilation system. There is no air conditioning inside the 3,500 square meters by 27 meters high, but those who enter do not notice, despite the 40 degrees outside. To explain why it is the same Rota: "The facades are not walls», he explains, «but rows of wire made of recycled flame-retardant plastic that make the wind pass. We are close to the desert and the wind, which is constant here, creates internal ventilation. Aeration is aided by horizontal water surfaces, which exploit the ancient evaporative cooling techniques of desert areas, helping to lower the perceived temperature".

The projects hosted by the Italian Pavilion of Expo 2020

The Italian Pavilion itself respects all the basic principles that Expo Dubai wants to promote. But this is not enough and the projects presented to you have great weight and relevance. We are talking for example about the installation Terna "Driving Energy". It is a work of art by the artist Marianna Masciolini that represents the concepts of sustainability, innovation and digitalization in three different forms. It is a project designed to raise awareness of the issues that the world’s major players will have to face at COP26. The project consists of a network that extends throughout the Italian Pavilion and guides the visitor along the tour inside it, a metaphor of the electricity grid that brings light to our homes.

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