Beauty connects people: the Italian Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020

Italy presented its pavilion exactly one year before Expo 2020 Dubai, the first World’s Fair to be held in an Arab country. The presentation took place during an event at the Serra del Sole in the Cava del Sole in Matera, establishing a special trait d'union between the Italian city named European Capital of Culture in 2019 and the world-wide event that will see the Italian pavilion built right on the “cultural spine” of the Expo site, not far from the host’s United Arab Emirates Pavilion.

"Beauty connects people" is the theme of the Italian pavilion designed by architectural studios CRA - Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota Office Building with matteogatto&associati and F&M Ingegneria, winners of the design competition held by Invitalia, the National Agency for Inward Investment and Economic Development of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance. The facility will cover an area measuring 3,500 square metres and almost 27 metres high, offering an immersive experience to the 5 million or more visitors expected to attend Expo. The pavilion concept is based on a circular approach to architecture. The roof of the exhibition area is made of the hulls of three boats which will sail to Dubai, becoming an emblem of recycling, circularity and reconfigurable architecture. The reference to the sea is also a homage to populations who have lived in the Mediterranean basin and given form to the unique cultural heritage now shared by all Mediterranean countries.
The Italian project also integrates materials and shapes recalling the territory in which it is located. The pavilion roof with the overturned hulls is a wavy surface recalling the sea, while its base is a giant sand dune, made of real sand like that found in the natural landscape of Dubai. The project will also include a number of construction elements made from sustainable or recycled materials, such as orange peels, coffee grounds, mycelium and recycled plastic collected from the oceans, demonstrating Italy’s know-how in this field. The skywalk in the pavilion, for example, will be clad in innovative materials made from discarded orange peels and coffee grounds.

(Agnese Bifulco)

CREDITS

italyexpo2020.it
A project by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota Building Office, with matteogatto&associati and F&M Ingegneria
CRA Team: Carlo Ratti, Saverio Panata (Project Manager), Francesco Strocchio (Project Leader), Monika Löve (Project Leader), Alberto Benetti, Luca Bussolino, Mario Daudo, Luca Giacolini, Serena Giardina, Alberto Geuna, Gerolamo Gnecchi, Andrea Fasolo, Francesca Marino, Lucia Miglietta, Nicola Scaramuzza, Ina Sefgjini, Alessandro Tassinari, Giovanni Trogu, Davide Ventura Renderings by CRA graphic team: Gary di Silvio, Pasquale Milieri, Gianluca Zimbardi

Italo Rota Building Office team: Italo Rota, Francesca Grassi, Francesco Lato, Omid Mohammadi, Gilberto Piano, Sammy Zarka

matteogatto&associati team: Matteo Gatto, Edoardo Perani, Paolo del Toro
F&M Ingegneria team: Sandro Favero, Federico Zaggia, Luigi Ranzato, Mirco Zuin, Mauro Baessato, Dino Casagrande, Davide Pizzolato, Marco Furlanetto, Antonio Nuzzo, Nicola Ros, Francesca Favero, Rade Batinica, Marco Bonaldo, Hazem Abdul Karim, Abid Pasha, Nicola Ferrari, Roberto Maffei

Creative Director: Davide Rampello, Studio Rampello and Partners

Set Design Consultant: Alessandro Camera
Lighting Design Consultant: Lorenzo Bruscaglioni, Luminae Lighting Design
Sound Design Consultant: Alessandro Pasini, P2A Design
Landscape Consultant: Flavio Pollano
Wayfinding Consultant: Luigi Farrauto, 100km studio
Graphic Consultants: studio FM milano

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