The dismantling of pavilions at the Expo 2020 Dubai site has begun in earnest.
Some country pavilions, such as those of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and India, will remain, while others have begun taking down exhibits and started the process of packing up installations, technology equipment and plants for recycling and reuse.
Among the many is the Netherlands pavilion, which is being hailed as the perfect example of circular construction, with many of its elements being reused or rehomed in the coming months.
The pavilion structure was built without concrete, with its entire foundation instead based on steel plates.
Pavilion organisers leased 2,000 tonnes of steel sheet piles and 18-metre tubes that made up the roof, which will be returned to companies in the UAE to be used in future construction projects.
The plan from the drawing board stage was for the plot to be left as it was received in 2018 — an empty piece of desert land.
“Our legacy is to give back to nature and leave the land as we found it,” Carel Richter, the Netherlands consul general and pavilion commissioner told The National.
“Our physical footprint will be minimal. Our story about creating a sustainable future continues.”
Mushrooms to sprout in Dubai warehouse
A giant cone blanketed with edible plants, cress and mushrooms formed the centrepiece of the Netherlands pavilion.
A mushroom farm housed inside the cone, which showed how herbs and food could grow in the desert, has been bought by a UAE entrepreneur.
During the six months of Expo, people queued up to see a structure that captured energy from the sun and extracted moisture from the air to make it rain in the desert.
Large oyster mushrooms were placed inside the darkened interior of the towering cone covered with plants.
The mushroom farm nurtured inside the pavilion will find a new home in a Dubai warehouse.
Dima Al Srouri, a UAE urban planner who is passionate about growing produce locally, purchased the system from Dutch suppliers.
“We have a disconnect from food systems. People don’t know where food comes from and we feel that they would get excited if they know the process and see how it’s grown,” said Ms Al Srouri, a lecturer at Abu Dhabi’s Sorbonne University.
“That gives a lot of trust in the product and people feel connected to their food.
“The Expo was a great platform that connected like-minded people to explore sustainable solutions.”
Harvesting equipment, including mixing machines, shelves and containers with hundreds of oyster mushrooms, are being placed in a container at the Expo site before being transported to the warehouse, the location of which has yet to be revealed.
Ms Al Srouri has plans for a summer opening of the repurposed farm that will sell to restaurants and be used as an educational facility.
Similar to what was done in the Dutch pavilion, some of the mushrooms will be used in mycelium products, a biodegradable fungus-based substance used in building material.
The floor tiles and wall panels in the pavilion's lounge were all made from mycelium.
“It will not be just oyster mushrooms, there will be other mushrooms and mycelium products and we will be collaborating with other entities on this,” Ms Al Srouri said.
“It’s a circular economy model where we are reusing instead of throwing away. We are looking at designing the farm with lots of reused material from the pavilion.
“So it’s a memory and the legacy of the pavilion will actually stay with us.”
Steel roof and floors to be reused
In line with its strategy to keep the pavilion's ecological footprint as small as possible, all installations — even the lift that was leased — will be reused.
“The Netherlands pavilion is our very first building that will be dismantled and we are proud of that,” said Michiel Raaphorst, co-founder of V8 Architects, the pavilion designers.
“We chose to use local materials since the Expo is a temporary event and to return the materials after Expo closed its doors.”
Lighting fixtures and furniture are being donated to a charity organisation in Dubai.
The floor was made from local sand and gravel with leased prefabricated pavement mats.
These will be lifted, dismantled and returned to suppliers for use as temporary pavements elsewhere in the city.
Sheet piles for the walls and steel tubes on the roof will be taken back by Meever & Meever, a Dutch steel company, for reusing in construction projects in Dubai.
More than 9,000 herbs and plants on the towering cone will be returned to the local supplier to be turned into compost. A local greenhouse will reuse the irrigation systems and the long hoses will be recycled.
A system that harvested hundreds of litres of water daily from moisture in the air will be shipped back to the Netherlands for use in new projects.
Solar panels on the roof were also leased locally and are being installed elsewhere in the city.
Talks are continuing about the use of organic and transparent photovoltaic panels that were designed by an award-winning Dutch designer.
In line with the aim of the world’s fair, organisers were committed to sharing knowledge.
“Leaving behind an empty plot and making sure the materials are reused or repurposed is in fact the essence of a circular approach: to use materials for the remainder of their lifespan,” Mr Raaphorst said.
“The pavilion is as such a blueprint for circular construction.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Results:
5pm: Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m | Winner: AF Tahoonah, Richard Mullen (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m | Winner: Ajwad, Gerald Avranche, Rashed Bouresly
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m | Winner: RB Lam Tara, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m | Winner: Duc De Faust, Szczepan Mazur, Younis Al Kalbani
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Dh70,000 2,200m | Winner: Shareef KB, Fabrice Veron, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 1,500m | Winner: Bainoona, Pat Cosgrave, Eric Lemartinel
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%3Cp%3EThe%20Royal%20Navy%20raid%20is%20the%20latest%20in%20a%20series%20of%20successful%20interceptions%20of%20drugs%20and%20arms%20in%20the%20Gulf%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMay%2011%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUS%20coastguard%20recovers%20%2480%20million%20heroin%20haul%20from%20fishing%20vessel%20in%20Gulf%20of%20Oman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMay%208%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20US%20coastguard%20vessel%20USCGC%20Glen%20Harris%20seizes%20heroin%20and%20meth%20worth%20more%20than%20%2430%20million%20from%20a%20fishing%20boat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMarch%202%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Anti-tank%20guided%20missiles%20and%20missile%20components%20seized%20by%20HMS%20Lancaster%20from%20a%20small%20boat%20travelling%20from%20Iran%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOctober%209%2C%202022%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERoyal%20Navy%20frigate%20HMS%20Montrose%20recovers%20drugs%20worth%20%2417.8%20million%20from%20a%20dhow%20in%20Arabian%20Sea%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESeptember%2027%2C%202022%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20US%20Naval%20Forces%20Central%20Command%20reports%20a%20find%20of%202.4%20tonnes%20of%20heroin%20on%20board%20fishing%20boat%20in%20Gulf%20of%20Oman%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Twin-turbocharged%204-litre%20V8%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20625%20bhp%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20630Nm%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh974%2C011%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Company profile: buybackbazaar.com
Name: buybackbazaar.com
Started: January 2018
Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech, micro finance
Initial investment: $1 million
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
More on Quran memorisation:
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
