São Paulo – Water will be the key element in the design and structure of Brazil’s Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020, the World Exhibition that will take place in the emirate. The architectural firm that signs the project that will represent Brazil in the event is JPG.ARQ, winner of the National Public Architecture and Exhibit Design Contest – Brazil’s Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020. The result was announced last Monday (12), with firms BEN-AVID and MMBB co-authoring the project and also assigned for the construction.
The contest, organized by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), had the theme “Together for Diversity”, with the subtitles Together for Nature, Together for People and Together for Tomorrow”.
The project presented by the architects places “Brazilian waters with its rivers and mangroves” as symbols of the country. “The poetic motto is the Rio Negro [Black River], a very important Brazilian river. It’s is black because it’s full of organic matter from the decomposition of the forest. It carries a symbolism that shines a light in a Brazil that is unknown. From the riverside landscapes, the river bank communities. It is not the Brazil of the maritime coast,” said José Paulo Gouvêa, JPG.ARQ’s Project Development Coordinator, in an interview to ANBA.
The soil of Brazil in Dubai
The project, says Gouvêa, wishes to showcase, in the United Arab Emirates, a Brazil that breaks away from the idea of the obscure. “That is why it has this levity, clarity and has chosen the topic of water as an essential thing,” says the architect. “It has something that, personally, pleases me, which is the use of water in Dubai. We have chosen the Brazilian waters as the topic, but the Dubai waters is also a rare natural resource that needs to be well cared for,” he added.
Inside the pavilion, there will be projections reflected in the fabric of the structure. “This shows how the design of the exhibition is totally matched with the architecture. As if the architecture and exhibition design had the same support. These are two connected features. And it has an analogy of the structure with the Arab world, which is the fabric. This transparency is a nuanced element. The decision to use the fabric is not a direct one, but you can say that it brings a relation,” concludes Gouvêa.
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
