OPEN PAVILION




Authors: AFTER PARTY architecture
Collaborators: Aidas Čergelis
Size: 500 m2
Program: Lithuanian Pavilion for Expo 2020
Location: Dubai, UAE
Status: Competition, 2nd Prize
Year: 2019








In the Expo dedicated to sustainability a pavilion should represent its core values leaving no trace in the aftermath of the event.










The pavilion seeks to return to core fundamentals of sustainability, using vernacular as immutable, unimprovable principles to adapt to local conditions (’Architecture without Architects’ by Bernard Rudovsky)


















A traditional Lithuanian hemp fabric blankets the pavilion performing both as a shade and as an insulation material protecting interior space from the desert heat.



















The core of the pavilion is
a lightweight structure
made out of the rented
scaffolding which performs
as the pillar holding tensile
structure at 15 m height as
well as the 3D volumetric
exhibition display. 


















The radiant cooling system powered by solar energy stimulated air circulation and natural ventilation to passively condition the interior space for the visitors.














World Expo is as if a large architectural amusement park, where the immense diversity of buildings and sculptures merge into a single visual noise, where sustainability is just a metaphor closed in air-conditioned boxes. Open Pavilion isolates itself from any expressions of over consumption and promotes honest sustainability principles as the driving force for shaping the architecture.

Open Pavilion is a portable, mobile architecture prototype - a structure inspired by the indigenous experience of passively adapting to a desert climate. A tent-like structure perfectly accustomed to local conditions by protecting from direct sunlight and ensuring natural ventilation. An easily assembled and transportable building that leaves no trace. With all these properties the pavilion becomes as if a monument for circular economy.

The core of the pavilion is a lightweight structure made out of prefab metal construction rack which performs as a pillar holding tensile texture at 15m height, as a system ensuring natural ventilation and passive cooling of the interior space, as a stack of closed pavilion program and as a 3D volumetric exhibition shelf. The pavilion is covered with a natural hemp fabric which is known to work well as an insulation material protecting interior space from overheating.