On April 28, The Kingdom of Thailand broke ground for its pavilion in on its plot at the Expo 2020 Dubai site. This timely beginning of construction has made Thailand the first country from the Asia region to begin its pavilion’s construction for Expo 2020. Construction on the Thailand Pavilion has now started with contemplative design and construction practices aiming for environmental impact reduction.
Located in the Mobility Thematic District, with a large plot size of 3,606 square meters, the ground breaking ceremony for the Thailand Pavilion took placed in the presence of Ms. Ajarin Pattanapanchai, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) as the Commissioner General of Section of Thailand Pavilion; Dr.Nattapon Nimmanphatcharin, President/CEO of the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa); and Mr. Waravuth Pouapinya, Ambassador of Royal Thai Embassy, Abu Dhabi, UAE.Commissioner General of Section of Thailand Pavilion,
Ms. Ajarin Pattanapanchai said: “We are proud to participate in the first mega-event in the Middle East which will be “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” on this ground that we are privileged to be standing on. Thailand welcomes all the participants and visitors of Expo 2020 with great warmth and good-will to achieve global goals. About the construction, Thailand pavilion will be divided into three phases which are shell and core building, interior works and external works. The total estimated man-hours of the construction are approximately 250,000 man-hours and the pavilion construction is expecting to be finished and ready to be operated by September 2020.”
To incorporate with the sustainable standards aligned with the vision of the World Expo 2020 Dubai to reduce environmental impacts and minimize energy usage, the construction & design of Thailand Pavilion was carefully planned to use less power and energy by utilizing smart design features and solar orientation with the use of natural shading. The Thailand Pavilion will also be built using internationally recognized technical software applying value engineering methodology with sustainable materials.
Contemplative Design
Like a flower in the middle of the desert, the Thailand Pavilion has more to offer than just its unique look. The exterior and interior of the pavilion are well designed to make the building use less energy and cool the building down. To help reduce the heat transmitting to the building, the pavilion was designed to have two layers.
The delicate woven flower façade around the building does not only help protect the scorching sun but also can beautifully glow in different colours as the mesmerizing display to draw the attention of the visitors to the pavilion.
The second layer is covered with heat insulation with a design to help reduce the heat. Moreover, the architect team has been studied day arcs in the area and incorporates the result with the pavilion design to create the natural shade. The building will cast its shadow to the Gathering Plaza area, where most visitors will be, as the sun is traveling along its route. The interior exhibition area has been functionally designed to be less exposed to the sun.
Environmental Friendly Construction
Reducing environmental impacts will also be of concern throughout the construction of the Thailand Pavilion, which aims to reduce 50% of construction waste and 10% recyclable construction materials. Instead of exporting the materials from Thailand to Dubai, all materials will be sourced locally to help reduce the carbon footprint and the recycled content of concrete, steel and aluminum will be used for the structural building.
The Thailand pavilion, which is operated by The Digital Economy Promotion Agency, the operating arm of Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), will be organized and run by the official representative, Index Creative Village PCL., with solid experience in managing turnkey projects such as Thailand’s pavilions at World Expos for over a decade.
At Expo 2020, the Thailand Pavilion will represent the country with the ‘Mobility for the Future’ theme, which represents the innovation-based development and visionary planning of transportation, logistics, digital connectivity and personal mobility and will be combined with ‘Thai DNA’, connecting people globally with the hospitality, thoughtfulness and smiles of the Thai people. Thailand is expecting 1.7 million visitors to attend its pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE.
