Poland Pavilion as one of the most spectacular at Expo 2020 Dubai

The Pavilion, the tree-like wooden structure with a kinetic sculpture, references the large-scale migration of birds from Poland to the Arab world. It explores the nation’s diverse global connections, as well as its role as a leading producer of goods – this is how the Poland Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai on 31 March can be described.

The construction of the pavilion, which was Poland’s business card at the World Fair, was carried out by the consortium of MTP and FM Aldentro.

“These awards confirm that the cooperation between the different bodies involved in the construction of the Poland Pavilion was exemplary. We would like to thank the general investor – the Polish Investment and Trade Agency for their trust and the Architecture Office WXCA – for the outstanding project,” says Tomasz Kobierski, CEO of the MTP Group.

The Polish exhibition received the prize for the best large pavilion of EXHIBITOR Magazine’s Expo 2020 and the title of the most beautiful pavilion of “The National.” 

The Poland Pavilion, with its wooden facade and the characteristic kinetic sculpture symbolizing the flock of birds, is one of the most characteristic and popular buildings of the Expo. The unique facade was designed, built and assembled by experts from Veka. For six months, our national presentation was attended by over a million visitors.

“It’s rare for a building that looks fantastic on visualizations to look as good or even better in reality. My heartfelt thanks go to our general contractors, the consortium of the MTP Group and FM Aldentro. Thank you for having this building as our business card in Expo 2020,” said Adrian Malinowski, the Commissioner-General of the Polish Section Expo 2020 Dubai, at the opening of the Poland Pavilion.

Professional implementation under extreme conditions

Construction of the Poland pavilion began in December 2019. It involved 30 Polish employees – wood specialists, fitters, carpenters and a coordination team as well as about 200 local engineers, foremen and employees of the local contractor.

“One of the biggest challenges was adapting to Dubai’s hot, humid and windy climate. During construction, the temperature difference between winter Poland and the UAE was sometimes almost 40 degrees. In summer, the thermometers showed record results and the temperature reached up to 50 Celsius degrees. Professionals doing physical work had to adapt the body to the activity in such conditions in a short time,” explains Tomasz Kobierski. 

“The challenge was to transport all building materials and interior fittings to the UAE. We sent 53 means of transport, mostly by sea. The building materials were in 20 containers. Some of the elements needed to build and equip the pavilion were transported by air – in cargo planes and even in passenger units. The door of the pavilion came to Dubai on the Emirates cruise flight B777,” adds Kobierski.

Less obvious transports were also brought to Dubai, including plants that form one of the zones of Poland’s “Inspired by Nature” presentation. Blackcurrant, hops, nettle or impatiens – thousands of kilometres had to be covered for exposure. Nearly 70 plant species, which occur naturally in Poland, were presented in seven large pots. The Garte company was responsible for the delivery and arrangement of the plant compositions.

Green Solutions

The building has environmentally-friendly solutions. Classic photovoltaic modules were installed on the entire roof area. In addition, a system with innovative perovskite cells manufactured by the Polish company Saule Technologies was used. The system consists of 20 vertical linear photovoltaic belts. Thanks to ink-jet printing technology, the thin and flexible perovskite cells are integrated directly into the façade of the pavilion and adapted to the architectural style. The energy they generate is used to charge the phones. Every visitor to the pavilion can thus benefit from freely accessible USB ports and thus from green energy. This invention is intended to revolutionize photovoltaics and was invented by Polish physicist Olga Malinkiewicz.

Another environmentally friendly solution was the installation of greywater. As a result, the wastewater from the sinks was cleaned and reused in the toilets.

Partners

The Polish Investment and Trade Agency was responsible for preparing the Polish presence at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. Atelier WXCA, together with Studio Bellprat Partner, were responsible for developing the design and the architectural-thematic concept of the pavilion and the exhibition. The consortium Science Now, Stellar Fireworks and Tellart were responsible for the detailed narrative concept of the exhibition, the key experiences and the production of all multimedia materials, which were also responsible for the idea of the “Polish Table” and the Zone V “Poland. Landscapes of Creativity.” The general contractor of the Poland Pavilion is the consortium Grupa MTP – FM Aldentro.

Expo 2020 Dubai is the first world exhibition in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. It is the largest congress in the world since the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic, bringing together more than 190 countries from all over the world and attracting more than 23 million visitors since its opening on October 1, 2021.

Visit the official website Poland Pavilion