Singapore's pavilion is 'an oasis in the desert' at Expo 2020 Dubai
CNN
There is no shortage of eye-catching structures at Expo 2020 Dubai, but the lush greenery of the Singapore Pavilion makes it a standout.
(CNN) — There is no shortage of eye-catching structures at Dubai's World Expo, but the lush greenery of the Singapore Pavilion makes it a standout. Built around three massive plant-covered cones, the pavilion isn't a traditional enclosed building, trading walls for a green belt of trees and plants capable of creating their own microclimate.
Visitors enter through a garden meant to appear as an oasis in the desert, which connects with Singapore's reputation as a "City in Nature" and offers a corner of calm in the middle of the bustling Expo. "But it's not just a pavilion filled with greenery," says Phua Hong Wei, director of WOHA, the Singapore architecture firm that designed the pavilion. "It showcases the coexistence of architecture and nature. It demonstrates that buildings can be designed as a responsible and sustainable environment, achieving net-zero energy and water in the desert. It becomes a prototype with strategies that are scalable and adaptable, from buildings to cities."