Singapore has announced details of its pavilion for Dubai's Expo 2020. This illustration shows the plans for a lush tropical oasis - designed to showcase the city-state's expertise in sustainable urban development solutions. Scroll through the gallery to see other countries stunning pavilions.
Singapore Pavilion, Expo 2020 Dubai
Designed by doctoral students from architecture firm Formosa AA Inc, the Czech pavilion in the sustainability zone of Expo 2020 will utilize a "S.A.W.E.R" (Solar Air Water Earth Resource) system to create a green landscape in the desert. One part of the system generates water from the air using solar power, while another cultivates fertile ground.
Formosa AA Inc.
The pavilion design will feature an array of bioplastic pipes connected to the S.A.W.E.R system, combining form and function.
Formosa AA Inc.
Designed by Vienna-based Querkraft, the Austrian pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai utilizes traditional Gulf building methods that its architects believe could reduce energy consumption by 72%.
courtesy Querkraft
Giant interlacing cones made of concrete and finished with a layer of rammed clay give the structure strong heat-absorbing qualities, meaning that when pavilion entrances are opened up to the night air and then closed off during the day, it stays cool. The design is inspired by the traditional "barjeel," or wind tower.
courtesy Querkraft
Spain's pavilion, designed by Madrid-based amann-canovas-maruri, features 17 conical tents above its exhibition area. The cones act as solar chimneys, a form of natural ventilation that encourages hot air out of the top of the pavilion while drawing in fresh air at the bottom.
Amann-Canovas-Maruri
Architect Nicolas Maruri says the firm is still working towards how it will execute the design, and that it plans to use recycled materials in its construction.
Amann-Canovas-Maruri
Some of the exhibiting space (seen here from above) will be buried 15 feet below ground level, helping to reduce interior temperatures.
Amann-Canovas-Maruri
The Dutch pavilion was designed by a consortium including V8 Architects and will be built from a large amount of rented sheet piling -- a construction material normally used in excavation and earth retainment.
V8 Architects
Inside the pavilion a biotope, a self-contained natural environment, is planned. Water will be generated by forced condensation, vegetables grown on the outside of a large central cone, and mushrooms grown on the interior.
V8 Architects
The consortium are introducing a host of sustainability measures including biodegradable cutlery, and according to V8 Architects founding partner Michiel Raaphorst, "for every component we have found an afterlife."
V8 Architects
Described by architects LAVA as "a vertical campus of nature and technology," the German pavilion is a voluminous creation with a lightweight roof covered in a metallic skin that allows light to enter the building through small openings.
facts and fiction/adunic/LAVA
Interlinked "floating" cubes will host exhibitions around an open atrium containing native German plants. LAVA say the overall layout utilizes passive energy saving measures, minimizing direct sunlight and trapping vertical airspace to create an "optimized climate."
facts and fiction/adunic/LAVA
Brazil's 4,000 square meter pavilion takes an aquatic theme and was designed by the offices of Ben-Avid, JPG.ARQ and MMBB Arquitetos. Visitors will cross what the architects describe as a "thin water blade" representing Brazil's rivers, surrounded by complementary projections, sounds and smells.
courtesy Ben-Avid/JPG.ARQ/MMBB Arquitetos
The pavilion is inspired by the Negro River in the Amazon Rainforest, and will also include raised pavements reminiscent of the stilted houses found along riverbanks in the region.
courtesy Ben-Avid/JPG.ARQ/MMBB Arquitetos
The New Zealand pavilion was conceived by architects Jasmax and themed around sustainability and the idea of "kaitiakitanga," Māori for "care for people and place." The design was inspired by "waka taonga," say Jasmax, "receptacles made by Māori to safe-guard items of considerable intrinsic value" -- normally intricately carved and sometimes presented as gifts to strengthen relationships and forge new partnerships.
Jasmax
The USA pavilion, designed by Curtis W. Fentress of Fentress Architects, takes the theme of mobility and will showcase cutting-edge transport including hyperloop technology and extraterrestrial vehicles.
courtesy Pavilion USA 2020
Early renders include dioramas with SpaceX capsules and Martian rovers. "It showcases all the things we are doing in America: developing technology and concepts that are going to move us forward in the future," said Fentress in a press release.
courtesy Pavilion USA 2020
Virgin Hyperloop One will be of particular interest to Emirati visitors: the Dubai government is in talks with the company to build a passenger and cargo network in the emirate.
courtesy Pavilion USA 2020
Called the "Poem Pavilion," the UK pavilion was designed by British artist Es Devlin and contains a space-inspired interactive poetry generator.
courtesy UK Department for International Trade
Shaped like a giant megaphone, visitors can contribute a messages which will be turned into poetry by artificial intelligence and displayed in LEDs. Fittingly for a World Expo, it will be multilingual.
courtesy UK Department for International Trade
Dubbed "Belles Vues" and designed by OOS, Bellprat Partner and Lorenz Eugster, the Swiss pavilion invites visitors on a virtual hike through the country's epic scenery before ending on a rooftop terrace.
courtesy House of Switzerland/OOS/Bellprat Partner/Lorenz Eugster
The Sustainability pavilion (which along with the Opportunity pavilion, Mobility pavilion and UAE pavilion, will remain after Expo 2020) was designed by Grimshaw Architects, who told CNN in 2018 it aims to create a net-zero energy building.
Grimshaw Architects
Around the central pavilion will be photovoltaic "e-trees" which will rotate with the sun in an act of biomimicry to generate electricity and generate water from the air.
Expo 2020
The pavilion will be partially buried to aid cooling, say Grimshaw, while walkways inspired by Wadi riverbeds will feature local plants in the landscaping.
