Technical explanation

The theme of the Dubai EXPO of 2020 is “connecting minds, creating the future”. My team and I focussed on how we could incorporate this theme and the identity of the Netherlands into one pavilion. Our goal was to tell a clear story. We figured that more people can create solutions but also bring problems. That would be the core idea behind the concept.

The pavilion would be something that develops throughout the duration of the EXPO (creating the future). At first there would only be a glass dome with a large 3D printing installation around it. This 3D printer would print the pattern you can see in the images above, but the speed at which it would do this depends on the amount of people present in the pavilion. More people equals faster printing speed (connecting minds). However, this glass dome could also be filled up with water to represent rising sea levels. More people also means faster rising water.
Once the dome is filled, the water flows down to the center of the pavilion. Here the visitors can create water ways to defend a city from the water. This action requires creativity and collaboration.