The three Expo Entry Portals that will welcome millions of visitors from around the world to Expo 2020 Dubai have been revealed with just over 250 days to go until the opening.
Conceived by Expo 2020 in collaboration with top British architect Asif Khan and his studio, the portals are a futuristic adaptation of the traditional mashrabiya, an intricate design used across the region to regulate light and airflow.
Ahmed Al Khateeb, chief development and delivery officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “We cannot wait to open our doors to the world on Oct. 20, and the Expo Entry Portals will provide a wonderful way to welcome millions of people from across the globe to the ‘world’s greatest show,’ giving a first taste of the amazing architecture and groundbreaking innovation they will experience all around the site.”
The portals are woven entirely from strands of ultra-lightweight carbon-fiber composite that lend structural strength. This enables the structures to stand 21 meters high — taller than a six-story building — and 30 meters long without any additional support. The portals lead to tree-filled arrival courtyards, also designed in collaboration with Khan — one in each of the three Expo 2020 districts: Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability.
The intricate structures have taken three years to develop and are the first element to be fully revealed from Khan’s design of Expo 2020’s Public Realm, which comprises more than six kilometers of walkable areas across the site.
Khan described the Expo Entry Portals as his best work yet. “The portals are the first thing you see as you approach the site, so they are a landmark at the beginning and end of your journey at Expo 2020. I would like visitors to the Expo, especially children, to be inspired by architecture they have never seen before, and to be excited that it is part of the heritage of the region. Passing through the doors represents a physical and symbolic act of moving from the past into the future.”
