Foster Design Shanghai Expo UAE Pavillion

Architects Foster and Partners has been busy designing the United Arab Emirates pavilion for the Shanghai Expo, China due to take place in 2010.

Since its first event in London way back in 1851 that stamped its mark on the world with the then famous Crystal Palace, the World Expositions have come to be thought of as the Olympics for the economic, scientific, technological and cultural fields.

It serves as an important platform for displaying historical experiences, show casing new and innovative ideas, improving international relations and looking to improving the future for generations to come. This will be the first registered World Expo to be held in a developing country, which many feel expresses confidence in Chinas future development.

The brief was to design something that relates to the theme "Better Cities, Better Lives", in keeping to this the pavilion is inspired by traditional Arab city planning. Using the latest technologies to maximise both the passive and active environmental profile, the design serves to illustrate the essential principles of a humane city whilst expressing the UAE's wish to be at the forefront of creating a more sustainable urban environment for future generations.

The pavilion will be one of the largest in the Expo at 20m high and with 6000 square metres of exhibition space, based on one of the most ancient patterns found in Arabic art the pavilion is a simple octagon. A semi-transparent and patterned screen encases the building giving it a strong visual identity which should along with its size help it stand out in the crowd.

The filigree on this screen provides not only shading but also creates an interesting play of light and shade within the interior space. The screen will also include solar captors, allowing it to provide energy for the running of the pavilion as well as cooling for the interior.

The patterning draws directly from Islamic inspirations, specifically Arabesque ones by repeating geometric forms that combine together to create a form of patterning. For the architect this is a clever choice to use in emphasising the origin of the structure whilst straddling two worlds at once - Arabesque is seen by some as both secular and religious at the same time showing a mathematical precision whilst remaining aesthetically pleasing.

It's a growing trend in modern architecture to evoke such Arabesque patterns, and indeed riff so heavily off Islamic art and sciences. The planned skyscraper in Dubai, the Lighthouse, features such detailing heavily on its facades whilst the Constellation, a 500 metre super-tall, has been designed specifically around Islamic astronomy.

Behind the screen visitors will discover an extraction of a traditional Arabic city. By fusing technological innovation with traditional elements of Arab culture such as the use of intricate patterns and the compactness and of ancient Arab cities; through this Fosters are certain that the pavilion communicates the UAE's desire to steer the way forwards to a sustainable future whilst preserving the art, culture and traditions of its past.


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