The Moroccan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is an edifice that is under construction at the over 4.38 square kilometers Expo 2020 Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The Expo is set to be a site of unbridled discovery featuring unique pavilions for 191 countries across the world as well as a host of signature pavilions.
Designed by OUALALOU+CHOI, a Paris and Casablanca-based architecture studio, the Moroccan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is an artful insight into the duality of tradition and modernity of the Moroccan experience. It will display the first-of-its-kind structure in the world with a 4000 m² rammed earth façade borrowed from ancient Moroccan architecture.
The Moroccan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai will consist of 22 stacked rectangular volumes arranged vertically around an inner courtyard. These volumes are inspired by local rammed earth villages throughout the North African country, such as those in the Draa valley or the Ait Ben Haddou, and the Telouet world heritage sites.
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The volumes encompass 14 exhibition spaces, a traditional Moroccan restaurant, a traditional tea room, a modern street food area, offices, and recreational areas. The spaces are all connected by an inner pathway that begins at the building’s roof and gradually descends to the ground floor.
The Pavilion’s exterior is made up of a 33-meter-high rammed earth facade, a traditional building technique in Morocco that promotes comfortable indoor conditions in hot and humid places while the interior is made of wooden panels that double as sunscreens.
Reportedly, after the completion of the 2020 Dubai Expo, which shall begin on October 1, 2021, and end on 31 March 2022, the Pavilion shall be converted into a housing complex, with pre-arranged facilities that can be adapted into apartments with recreational facilities such as an 80m² swimming pool, a fitness club, and a shared lounge area.
