Pakistani Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, which has been one of the star attractions at the world fair with over 1 million visits, has won the best exterior design award.
“Pakistan Pavilion has won the BURJ CEO Award for ‘Best Pavilion Exterior Design’,” the pavilion’s official Twitter account said.
“We are happy to celebrate the award,” it added.
The win comes days after Rashid Rana, the designer of the pavilion, received Sitara-e-Imtiaz recently on March 23, 2022, which is the third-highest civilian award in Pakistan for his contributions in the field of art and design.
Congratulations to 🇵🇰 for winning the best pavilion exterior design award at #Expo2020! Very proud of @RashidRanaRR & team who did a brilliant job with the architecture & made 🇵🇰 stand out at the global event!This well-deserved win is another recognition of 🇵🇰's immense talent!👏 pic.twitter.com/S1EQECMWin
— Alfred Grannas (@GermanyinPAK) March 30, 2022
The Dubai expo is a global exhibition, hosted by Dubai in UAE every year since 2013. The Expo 2020 was originally scheduled for October 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was rescheduled for 2021. The theme for the exhibition was “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”.
There were further three sub-themes including opportunity, mobility, and sustainability. Similarly, a total of 192 countries participated in the Expo 2020 making it a global and inclusive exhibition. This display offered a global platform for cultural exchange and interaction for various customs, traditions, and heritage.
The Hidden Treasures of Pakistan
Pakistan along with other countries of the world participated in the Expo, where it shared its ideas, culture, and values. Almost 25 million people from all around the world visited the expo to connect on ideas and shape a better future which has made the country learn and grow globally. The theme of Pakistan’s pavilion for the Expo 2020 was “The Hidden Treasure”, designed by Pakistan’s Culture and Heritage Center which spreads across 2,900sqm.
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Furthermore, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) engineered the structure of the pavilion. The theme of the structure “Unit of All That Appears”, combined rhombus-shaped aluminum composite panels, with one half in reflective mirror finish and the other printed with UV technology. This was done to incorporate a material that breaks the solidity of the structure and creates an optical illusion making the structure appear lighter. This had made the panels of the pavilion look more reflective.
Rashid Rana, one of the leading artists of South Asia, carefully designed the project to reflect the vibrant seasons of Pakistan. The pavilion also consists of a souvenir shop with art and craft works allowing visitors to take back home the unique culture of Pakistan. Moreover, the pavilion’s official soundtrack composed by Rohail Hyatt is also the amalgamation of four distinct musical styles of Pakistan depicting its vast musical heritage.
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Additionally, the pavilion highlights Pakistan’s rich culture, intriguing history, mesmerizing landscape, diverse ethnicities, etc. Likely, one of the pavilions also features the country’s responsible role in climate change and global warming, hence displaying the artistic installations of the Billion-Tree Tsunami project.