WOHA's singapore pavilion for expo 2020 dubai is an oasis in the arabian desert

Date：2020-03-19

Singapore-based architecture firm WOHA has beenselected to design the singapore pavilion for the 2020 world expo, heldin dubai. located in the expo’ssustainability district, the pavilion is inspired by its theme of ‘nature. nurture.future.’, showcasing singapore’s innovations and aspirations as aresilient, livable city in nature. it operates entirely on solar energy andsolar desalination systems and is net-zero in energy over the 6-month worldexpo period.

WOHA Architects was co-founded in 1994 by Wong Mun Summ from Singapore and Richard Hassle from Australia, and has since developed into a top design group with an international reputation for relentless pursuit of design innovation and evolution. WOHA combines its in-depth knowledge of the environment and tradition with continuous exploration of contemporary architectural modeling and concepts, forming a design feature that combines practicality with creativity. WOHA is good at summarizing all aspects involved in the architectural design process into a series of advanced ideas and spares no effort to apply and promote green and environmentally friendly design strategies in its works, so it has created sustainable and dynamic architectural work. one after another.

It is worth mentioning here that， WOHA-designed works have won numerous awards，among their works "Alila Villas Uluwatu" and "Genexis Theater" have won three laurels 2010, IAI Outstanding Design Award, IAI Best Aesthetic Artistic Conception Award and IAI Best Design Award-Commercial Space respectively.

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Woha's key idea for the expo 2020 dubaisingapore pavilion is to create an oasis in the arabian desert. the pavilion’s usable areas are maximized and multipliedthrough stacked layers to form a voluminous, 3-dimensional green space. theground plane is a lush oasis of tropical trees, verdant shrubs and vibrantorchids, capped with a spectacular hanging garden and anchored by three conesdraped in vertical greenery.

The landscaped garden cones arethematic volumes with sensory and multimedia displays that engulf the visitorsin a refreshing and memorable experience a meandering canopy walk brings visitors around and through the cones andemerges to an open sky market platform. sheltered by the solar canopy andcooled with fine mist fans, visitors learn more about singapore’s DNA from thearray of exhibits and programs. the experience concludes at the ground galleriawith a display of singapore’s design stories and a retail space.Despite the heat of the desert, the visitors’ journey is made comfortable and enjoyable by the combination of shade, evapo-transpiration cooling of the vegetation and finemist fans that cool the air by 5-10 degrees celsius.

The uniqueness of the singaporepavilion is that, despite its location in the desert, it is green, soft andalive, demonstrating the great potential of the respectful, seamlessintegration and coexistence of nature and architecture. it represents a captivating and forward-looking singapore, one that is sociable, sustainable and livable, and shows a wayarchitecture can make a meaningful contribution to the fight against theeffects of climate change.

we are honored to have been chosenas the designers of the singapore pavilion for the 2020 world expo in dubai.with our design, we aim to show that it is possible to build a self-sufficientgreen oasis anywhere in the world, even in the desert. planting more trees andcreating more green spaces is the best way to take immediate action againstclimate change – recent studies show it to be the most effective,cost-efficient and broadly available solution to combat global warming and itcan be done now, anywhere. singapore has been exploring many ways to become oneof the greenest places in the world, and we hope to share this knowledge andinnovation at the world expo,’comments wong mun summ, co-founding director of WOHA.