The 2020 World Expo will take place in the Middle East for the first time, and Dubai won the right to host it, among other things, thanks to the HOK project, developed by the firm in collaboration with Populous and Arup engineers. Recall that the rivals of Dubai were the cities of Yekaterinburg, Sao Paulo and Izmir.
The Expo 2020 complex with an area of 438 hectares will be located in the Jebel Ali area, near the port of the same name and the new Al Maktoum airport. In plan, it resembles a shamrock, in the center of which is the Al-Wasl Square. This historic name for Dubai means “connection”: it is a reference to the exhibition motto “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”.
Zones of Opportunity, Sustainability and Mobility diverge from the square, each of which will house “innovation modules” and “sites of best practice”. The layout of the complex follows the tradition of the Arab souk market: small exhibition objects are located closer to the center, and large buildings are placed around the perimeter. This will ensure a smooth flow of visitors and encourage them to communicate with each other, the designers say. A cable car is provided as the main vehicle, which will also allow you to admire the complex from above.
Green developments have become an important element of the plan: the main streets will be covered with fabric canopies with solar panels, which, together with batteries on the facades of the pavilions, will provide the Expo with at least half of the electricity it needs. The rest of the paths will be shaded by buildings and landscape design elements located on their sides. During the exhibition, it is planned to treat and use waste water, recycle materials and monitor CO2 emissions.
Following the closure of the Expo, in 2021, three key pavilions - Welcome, Innovation and the UAE - will be transformed into the Museum of the Future.
It is assumed that the UAE authorities will allocate 35 billion US dollars for the implementation of the Expo complex in 2014.
