translated from Spanish: Architects Radic, Puga and Velasco will develop the Chilean pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020

As a success rated Alvaro Saieh, Commissioner General of Chile at Expo Dubai 2020, the public contest of id Chile Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020, to be held between October 2020 and April 2021.
Expo 2020 Dubai is the first universal exhibition to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, under the theme “Connecting minds, creating the future”. More than 200 organizations, including countries, multinational organizations and institutions, have committed their participation. From its inception in 1851 to today, universal exhibitions have been highlighted for exhibiting the latest in innovation and technology.
Chile will participate in this version of the Expo with a Pavilion of approximately 400 m2 on a site of 1,100 m2, with a privileged location in the so-called “Petal of Sustainability” of the fair.
“We are very pleased with the enthusiasm that this contest generated among the Chilean professionals. Despite their short working time, 24 projects were received by leading architects and architects’ offices. We are sure that the quality and professional trajectory of the Jury was a tremendous incentive to participate,” said Alvaro Saieh.
Among the 24 projects received and after a long deliberation, due to the quality of the works presented, the jury unanimously decided to propose as a winner, the architectural proposal of Smiljan Radic, Cecilia Puga and Paula Velasco.
“I want to thank the work and dedication of the jurors who, demonstrating all their generosity and commitment to Chile, enthusiastically got involved in preparing the process, and then reviewing and selecting the best jobs. It is a guarantee that such a remarkable team of Chilean architects will accompany this process until the final construction of the Pavilion,” Saieh added.
For his part, the Director of the Jury Yves Besancon stated that “the process of drawing up bases to convene this public and open competition, was an intense work that culminated in a transparent and clear process in which 24 projects were presented that allowed the Jury composed of 11 architects of the 13 members who composed it, select the best. The decisions were unanimous and the winning project will be a faithful representative of our country and its architecture. For both the College of Architects and the Association of Architects’ Offices, AOA, it is imperative that the State call public and open competition whenever it is determined to make public works or buildings inside or outside the country, since the investment in those projects are carried out with funding from all Chileans.”
Chancellor Teodoro Ribera, who has closely followed the process, expressed his appreciation “for the efforts put by the experts, convened by ProChile, to capture in their projects a pavilion capable of transmitting and representing our country before the visitors of the Next Expo Dubai 2020. We are deeply pleased with the enthusiasm and motivation with which the best architects in the country participated. The selected pavilion will be an important part of the showcase that our Commissioner Alvaro Saieh has, to represent Chile in the best way to the rest of the world”.
Finally, The Director of ProChile Jorge O’Ryan noted that “Chile’s participation in this Expo is very relevant to the country and to our goal of promoting exports in this region of the world. Our presence in this universal fair allows us to publicize in the Arab world and in the non-Arab countries of the Region, the exportable supply of Chilean goods and services, strengthen the country image and attract foreign investment and tourism. In addition, being able to count on this Pavilion, defined through an open and public competition, in which they have participated openly and extensively outstanding Chilean architects, is a very good first step in this objective, I assume as in the export of Chilean talent”.
The architects Smiljan Radic, Cecilia Puga and Paula Velasco together express their joy at this result, indicated that “in an easy and direct way the pavilion must make evident in its construction process, materiality and form, the efforts that develops the State of Chile especially on sustainability, promoting a territorial image deeply rooted in global problems.”
In the opinion of the architects themselves, “the pavilion is proposed simply as an extruded shadow of the construction site. A primitive mark on the ground, as nomadic tribes have for centuries in this now globalized desert. This apparent dimension, physical and cultural, is necessary to inhabit the Country Pavilion of Chile as a friendly and austere space.”
Chile’s presence in this Universal Expo will allow the country and its export sector to make itself known in a region with a total population of almost 3.2 billion people (including India and Iran). As an example, 70% of Fortune 500 companies are regionally based in Dubai and regularly top the World Bank’s annual easy-to-do rate in the Arab world.
The estimates of its organizers predict that this version of the Expo will host 25 million visitors, of which 70% will come from abroad, that is, the highest percentage of international visits in the history of universal exhibitions. This provides our export sector with an important platform for dissemination and visibility.

Original source in Spanish

Related Posts

Add Comment