The portals, designed by British architect Asif Khan, are part of his public space plan for the Dubai World Expo site, which opens on 20 October 2020. This decorative gate, 21 m high and 30 m long, will open and close every day to mark the start and end of the exhibition.
The project is based on tradition - carved window grilles "mashrabiya", in themselves - part of the rich history of geometric ornament in the Islamic world, but offers its futuristic reading. Thus, Asif Khan continues the line of innovative buildings characteristic of the World's Exhibitions since the very first, in 1851, with its Crystal Palace.
Khan himself has already established himself in a temporary experimental genre, designing pavilions for the 2012, 2014 and 2018 Olympic Games, Astana Expo 2017, London's Serpentine Gallery in 2016, and so on.
The project took three years to complete, with the architect working closely with a large CFRP fabricator and an aircraft engineer to combine the optimal amount of material used, wind penetration, shading and production speed in the design.
Asif Khan also designed a six-kilometer linear park for Expo in Dubai with a variety of paths, recreation areas, ponds, and landscaping. After the exhibition ends in April 2021, this area will become part of the urban space.
