EXPO Shade Structures – Bird Silhouettes

For the World Expo 2020 in Dubai, Werner Sobek developed innovative shading systems that connect all the country pavilions on the exhibition grounds. They are designed in such a way that they absorb high deformations without any problems. In total, the structures span an area of around 96,000 m².

Shade for a Desert State

Based on the basic principle of a steel frame structure, three different shading systems were developed to provide extensive spanning without interfering with the visual axes on the EXPO site. The entire structure was certified according to CEEQUAL and achieved the highest level of compliance “Excellent”.

CEEQUAL Certified with the Highest Degree of Fulfilment “Excellent”

The second shading system consists of multi-layer horizontal cable nets supporting around 3,500 membrane figures with spans of up to four metres. The figures are modelled on the silhouettes of birds and span a total area of 16,400 m².