Projects:
UAE Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010
Shanghai, China
Civic
under construction
The UAE Pavilion provides exhibition space that will highlight the United Arab Emirates at the Shanghai Exposition in 2010. Foster + Partners developed the initial form to resemble the sand dunes found throughout the country. In order to provide a column-free space under each of the dunes, HP worked closely with Foster + Partners through a series of form finding exercises to optimize each shell while maintaining the sand dune forms. As a result of this exercise, the three different sand dunes act as three distinct shells with varying support conditions. The 'front' sides of the dunes are made of a triangular steel gridshell structure, allowing straight steel members to form a faceted surface, while the straight 'back' sides of the dunes consist of steel beam columns to support both the cladding and the edge of the shell structures.
