Saudi Arabia's Expo Pavilion: A Symbol of Heritage and Future

Boris Micka Associates' Award-Winning Design Reflects Saudi Arabia's Transformation

The Pavilion's design inspiration stems from a desire to avoid sinuous and over-complicated forms, focusing instead on a self-contained, prismatic volume that symbolizes a solid, determined, and trustworthy country. The structure rises from the ground, symbolizing a society with unlimited ambitions. Its simplicity and construction quality represent a society that values beauty in the essence of things.

What sets the Pavilion apart is its symbolic representation of Saudi Arabia as a country firmly rooted in its heritage but rapidly changing towards the future. State-of-the-art audiovisual installations, interactive environments, and scenographic recreations portray Saudi nature, heritage, society, and vision for the country's future. The Pavilion promotes interaction and reveals many widely unknown aspects of The Kingdom.

The Pavilion was developed from inception to completion, including building and exhibition contents in two years. The design, construction, and operation focussed on sustainability during the entire process, which resulted in the building being certified as a LEED Platinum construction. The exterior envelope of the building works as an LED screen, turning the structure into a strong communication tool, a point of attraction for visitors that sparks their interest in exploring further.

The Saudi Arabia Expo Pavilion is located in the Opportunity Sector at the DUBAI EXPO 2020. It was opened to the public in October 2021, and up to February 2022, it has received over 3 million visitors. The international event will be closed in April 2022, but the Pavilion will remain as a legacy-building integrated into the new District 2020 area, a mixed urban development integrating residential, cultural, and technical facilities.

Designing a national pavilion for a world EXPO is a challenging task. Building and contents must represent the country in all its complexity: nature, heritage, society, etc. In a limited space and time, one must encompass a vast and diverse reality being sensitive to all the nuances involved. In this case, the goal was to portray a country changing in every aspect, opening to the world, proud of its heritage but aiming for a bright future, revealing many unknown facets of the Kingdom.

The Saudi Arabia Expo Pavilion is a bold inclined volume rising from the ground towards the sky, symbolizing Saudi Arabia as a country firmly rooted in its heritage but changing rapidly towards the future. Throughout the visitor's experience, state of the art technology generates immersive audiovisual environments, interactive installations, and scenographic recreations. The exhibition contents display Saudi nature, heritage, society, and vision for the future, providing an insight into a fascinating country, creating a lasting memory, and fostering visitors' interest to learn more.