AL SALIYA
Location: Dubai, UAE
Design Director: Raya Ani
Company Name: RAW-NYC Architects
Category: Architecture
Year: 2019
Al Saliya “traditional fishing net, a symbol of wealth, wisdom and goodness in Mesopotamian culture”
To encourage creativity, collaboration, and innovation, Dubai is taking the opportunity to connect the world for the first time in the Middle East region at Expo2020. The main theme of Expo 2020 is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” which promotes new opportunities to facilitate the diffusion of information to all which consequently permits people to be active members of this global ecosystem.
“Opportunity” is one of the subthemes of Expo 2020. The design concept of the Iraq Pavilion reflects on opportunity and its importance to create new beginnings and build a future. Thousands of years ago, an opportunity was embraced and a civilization was established. Two rivers – Tigris and Euphrates – offered an opportunity to host the beginnings of human civilization. The first farm settlements were formed and farmers grew crops and caught fish.
The abundance of food resources led for a new life to begin and population to grow. Fish symbolizes rebirth and abundance; therefore, the semblance of the fish was incorporated into the design of the pavilion’s floor plan. Two media walls were incorporated to outline the pattern of the two rivers starting from north and intersecting at the south.
The interior face of the media walls presents the rich history of the land between the two rivers, creating an educational experience for the visitors while encouraging them to network and build relationships on global levels. The exterior face of the media walls showcases Iraq in the modern times.
To create the enclosure of the pavilion, the shell structure was designed and inspired by the fishing net as a method of catching fish. The shell structure was designed in the form of the net casting technique as if the organic flowing nature of the shell is catching future opportunities for a new Iraq in a global development context.
The metal structure of the shell will be manufactured in Dubai, while the net pattern will be woven using local materials by Iraqi labor to empower local craftsmen. To reflect on sustainability and the importance of daylight in architectural spaces, the design of the shell allows natural light into the pavilion through the net openings.
