Alif the Mobility Pavilion

Designed by Fosters and Partners and an exhibition powered by Weta Workshop

Location

Dubai

Type

Cultural

Completed on

29.9.2021

Services Rendered

Worked with Fosters and Partners from concept design to project delivery.
Worked with five times oscar winner SIr Richard Taylor from Weta Workshop and team to deliver a world leading experience.
Led the Emaar Development team to successfully deliver the building and exhibition phases.
Led the procurement of designers and contractors for building and exhibition design and construction
Managed the interface with Expo 2020 senior management and content teams
Managed the budget and Project Cost Consultants
Led the tendering of Building and Exhibition contractors.
Led the successful handover to Expo 2020 operations
Leading the administration of all contracts including managing the performance of all parties
Managed the interfaces with Expo 2020, stakeholders, and interfacing projects
Managed and coordinated the integration of Expo 2020 content.

Expo2020 ALIF the Mobility Pavilion

The Mobility Pavilion designed by UK-based architects Foster + Partners was one of the most popular pavilions at Expo 2020 Dubai.

It is clad in raw, hand formed and welded, stainless steel fins with the largest area of double glazed curved glass in the UAE. Featuring the world’s largest passenger lifts, transporting up to 160+ people at a time with a partially underground, partially open-air 330-meter track where visitors can see cutting-edge mobility devices in action.Alif is now open as a permanent attraction in Expo City and the investment in the enthralling and immersive experience is still being realised.

Martin also managed Weta Workshop who led the experience design, concept development, and built a collection of large-scale key elements which together tell the story of how people, goods and ideas have moved throughout history and continue to forge new frontiers.

Weta Workshop worked alongside Los Angeles based experience company, Magnopus to create a narrative spanning centuries, cultures, and technology. Weta brought their unique cinematic approach to the design and used both epic and intimate elements to enthrall the visitors.

Weta Workshop are masters at developing cinematic visions, and their skill is at the forefront of the experience. This approach means they think big in scale and impact, while striving to create moments of intimacy.

“Some of the figures inside are eight times life-sized. That’s every pore, every hair follicle, everything scaled up big-time. That meant a new approach with new materials and new manufacturing methodologies. We had to reinvent our process, from the ground up.”‍

Richard Taylor, CEO and Creative Director, Weta Workshop.

The giant’s costumes weigh 995kg in materials (around 330kg per giant) while the total structural form of the giants was comprised of 125 parts. The beards took two weeks to create by two artists and required drilling around 15,000+ holes. Entire faces took four weeks for two to three artists to complete. The elements took one year to build, four months to ship and three months to assemble in Dubai.

Expo Dubai 2020 welcomed 25 million visitors during its six-month run.

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