2020 Expo Dubai Entry Canopy Building, Architect, UAE Design Project Images

2020 Expo Dubai Entry Canopy Design

29 September 2021

Design: Woods Bagot UAE

2020 Expo Dubai Entry Canopy: WonderCool

Dubai Expo Entry Canopy : WonderCool

This is a beautiful installation among a host of amazing exhibits at one of the world’s best displays of the future of architecture and design.

Kaynemaile’s ‘WonderCool’ greets visitors at Dubai World Expo 2020

Canopy shields visitors from desert heat while providing calming sensory experience

NEW YORK SEPTEMBER, 2021. The first spectacle of architectural design to be encountered by the expected 25 million visitors to Dubai World Expo is the soaring kinetic shade canopy over the visitor arrivals hall.

2020 Expo Dubai Entry Canopy: WonderCool

The result of a collaborative design with Woods Bagot Architecture and Kaynemaile, the creators of architectural composite mesh systems, this 130,000 ft2 shade canopy acts as a passive heat management system for visitors waiting in 100-degree heat for security checks.

By day, the Kaynemaile canopy offers a cooling 70% shade protection for the visitors queuing to enter the World Expo, coupled with a calming sensory experience generated by the fluid movement of the 55 overhead screens running the length of the 60m long arrival hall.

This kinetic movement triggers not only air passage throughout the space, but also creates an interplay of shadow and light both on the ground and throughout the mesh layers overhead. Kaynemaile call this ‘the WonderCool Effect,’ bringing life and movement to static architectural spaces.

2020 Expo Dubai Entry Canopy: WonderCool

By night, an entirely different experience emerges as the canopy comes to life exhibiting dynamic light shows utilising the defusing and reflective qualities of the Kaynemaile mesh.

With 192 nations exhibiting in this once-in-five-year World Expo event, the leading architects, creatives, and constructors see this as “the Olympic Games of architecture and construction.”

2020 Expo Dubai Entry Canopy: WonderCool

“This is no ordinary shade canopy solution,” says Kaynemaile CEO and creative director Kayne Horsham. “As the ‘first impression’ installation at Dubai World Expo entrance, it needed to be visually dramatic and highly functional to reflect this international display of elite architectural creativity that is synonymous with this global exhibition.”

Kaynemaile was selected for this mammoth design, manufacturing, and installation task after 12 different traditional woven textiles and glass fibre materials failed in field testing for endurance in hot, dry, and windy conditions.

2020 Expo Dubai Entry Canopy: WonderCool

The New Zealand-based company has built and international reputation for its ‘can-do Kiwi’ approach to large-scale design challenges, coupled with an in-depth understanding of kinetic forces and how to maximize the unique flexural properties of its seamless material.

“The arc of our evolution over 15 years has been creating and patenting a manufacturing process through to delivering highly effective custom architectural solutions at scale throughout the world,” says Horsham.

Dubai Expo Entry Canopy WonderCool shading

Kaynemaile won ‘best new architectural product’ at the NYCxDesign Awards in 2019 and is installed on building exteriors as well as interiors in several U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Seattle, Detroit, Columbus, Atlanta, and New York. Internationally Kaynemaile has provided design solutions in Australia, China, Dubai, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, and Vietnam.

Dubai Expo Entry Canopy WonderCool shading

Several U.S. installations are on car park building exteriors. A unique element of Kaynemaile is its solar reduction benefits to both the building it protects and indirectly the surrounding urban area (aka the Urban Heat Island). By protecting the building mass from direct sunlight and not restricting the cooling effects of air movement, Kaynemaile significantly reduces the total energy costs required to cool a building in hot climates.

Dubai Expo Entry Canopy WonderCool shading

The three-dimensional mesh structure means a high proportion of the mesh surface area is always in shade, giving a cooling effect as the air passes through the cross-sectional open area. It significantly reduces both radiant and thermal conductive heat from entering the building envelope by up to 70%. Unlike steel mesh products which act as conductive energy stores, Kaynemaile mesh remains at a near ambient temperature, thus protecting the building and surrounding environment from heat conduction.

Dubai Expo Entry Canopy WonderCool shading

In October 2019, only 12 months before the Covid-delayed Expo was scheduled to open, Kaynemaile was approached by Mace Group UAE, the technical consultants for the client Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). After validating their mesh as the only suitable material for this project, Kaynemaile then worked with Woods Bagot Architecture to co-develop and engineer a solution. After a four-month design process, the canopy was custom produced over three months in New Zealand at Kaynemaile’s precision manufacturing facility in the capital city Wellington in four high performance exterior colours to reflect the palette used throughout the space.

Dubai Expo Entry Canopy WonderCool shading

Kaynemaile mesh is crafted from lightweight engineering grade polycarbonate using their own patented injection moulding process. It is 100% recyclable and aligns with the circular economy approach to design and manufacturing. The inspiration for the innovative architectural product came from Kayne Horsham’s role as Weta Workshop Art Director for Creatures, Armor, and Weapons on the Academy Award-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy. Horsham was responsible for designing and prototyping all the armor systems used in making the films and became captivated by kinetic and visual effects of this ancient material.

For Dubai World Expo Kaynemaile have also conceptualised, designed, and created the living build façade of the New Zealand Pavilion located in the Sustainability District.

Unlike most of the 192 World Expo country pavilions which are destined for removal or redevelopment after the event closes, the DWTC arrival hall is considered a ‘legacy installation’ which means it will continue to create moments of wonder for many other events held at this massive convention centre and offer a cool space for those who pause and admire what is being called Kaynemaile’s ‘WonderCool’ canopy.

Dubai Expo Entry Canopy WonderCool shading

Dubai Expo Entry Canopy – Building Information

Client: Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) UAE
Consultants: Mace Construction
Architects: Woods Bagot UAE
System design: Kaynemaile
Lighting: C+D Lighting
Material: Kaynemaile WonderCool™ Mesh
Main contractor: Alec Engineering and Contracting
Installation: Mr Shady

Woods Bagot

2020 Expo Dubai Entry Canopy: WonderCool images / information received 290921

Location: Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE

Dubai 2020 Expo Pavilions

Dubai 2020 Expo Pavilions
Design: Santiago Calatrava, Foster + Partners, BIG and Grimshaw Architects
2020 Expo Dubai Pavilion by Foster + Partners
Dubai 2020 Expo Pavilions

2020 Expo Dubai Luxembourgish Pavilion
Design: METAFORM Architects
2020 Expo Dubai Luxembourgish Pavilion
image courtesy of architects
2020 Expo Dubai Luxembourg Pavilion Building

Sustainability Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai
Design: Grimshaw Architects
Sustainability Pavilion for Expo 2020
image courtesy of architects
Sustainability Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai

Dubai World Expo 2010 Masterplan
Design: HOK / Populous
Dubai Expo 2020 - Expo Village
Dubai World Expo Masterplan by HOK / Populous

Dubai World Expo

UAE Architecture

Abu Dhabi Architecture Designs – chronological list

Dubai Buildings

Abu Dhabi Buildings

Burj 2020 Dubai Tower in UAE
Architects: RNL Design
BURJ 2020 Dubai
photo courtesy of architects
BURJ 2020 Dubai Building

Hyperloop Pods and Portals
Design: BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group
Hyperloop Pods and Portals in Dubai
image from architects
Hyperloop Pods and Portals in Dubai

Architecture Tours Dubai by e-architect

Dubai World Expo 2020

Comments / photos for the 2020 Expo Dubai Entry Canopy design by Woods Bagot Architects UAE page welcome