Germany has broken ground on its country pavilion for the upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai gala event. Located in the Expo’s Sustainability District over a 4,600 sq-m area, sustainability will be the main focus at the facility.

The groundbreaking ceremony on the German plot, right next to the host pavilion of the UAE, highlighted the fact that work on the German Pavilion is well on schedule, said senior officials.

With one-and-a-half years to go until Expo 2020 Dubai opens its doors, the German Pavilion aims to bring Campus Germany to life over the coming months.

After the ground breaking ceremony, Commissioner General Dietmar Schmitz and his team presented some of the sustainability exhibits that will be on show and the pavilion’s climate management system.

Schmitz was particularly impressed by the Expo organizers’ progress with construction work on the site.

"The metro line is already visibly coming to life, the UAE Pavilion and the thematic pavilions are taking shape and the domed structure of the Al Wasl Plaza is growing ever taller. Now it’s our turn to start construction work on Campus Germany and become part of this story," noted Schmitz.

Koelnmesse, one of Germany's largest trade fair organisers that boasts 284,000 sq m exhibition floor area, is in charge of co-ordinating all of the preparations on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and will run the pavilion in 2020/2021.

“Our top priority is making sure that everything is ready on time for the opening of the Expo on 20 October next year,” remarked Gerald Bose, the President and CEO of Koelnmesse, summing up what the entire pavilion team is busy working on.

"So it’s important to stick to the schedule and start work on construction in good time," he added.

Lauding Schmitz and his team, Najeeb Mohammed Al Ali, the executive director at Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau, said: "We look forward to seeing Germany’s pioneering sustainability efforts come to life as we continue our journey together towards a once-in-a-lifetime celebration at Expo 2020."

"As the German Pavilion plot, which measures approximately 4,600 sq m, is located in the Expo’s Sustainability District, sustainability will be the main focus at Campus Germany," he added.

Visitors will “enrol”, like at a university, and then embark on a curriculum that takes them through a Future Energy Lab, Future City Lab and a Biodiversity Lab to “graduate” in an exciting show at the end of the tour.

"This graduation will be a milestone for everyone – full of emotion and knowledge, with a multitude of possibilities and opportunities for sustainability combined with an appeal to take advantage of them. Each of the graduates will take on an active role on a mission to use their newly acquired knowledge to shape the future, true to the Expo theme of ;Connecting Minds, Creating the Future'," noted Al Ali.

Superconductors, solar power from concrete and mini invaders Dietmar Jähn, a managing director at agency facts and fiction, which shares responsibility with Nussli Adunic for the concept design, planning and realisation of the German Pavilion, brought three examples from the Campus Germany curriculum to Dubai.

The Cologne-based agency is in close contact with more than 30 research institutions, universities and companies to develop a crowd-pleasing, inspiring and well-thought-out showcase of pioneering innovations for a sustainable future.

AmpaCity, a project by Essen-based company innogy, is the only superconductor in the world that is already integrated into grid operations. The underground cable links together two transformer substations, a kilometre apart, in Essen city centre, transmitting electricity with almost no loss.

This technology innovation is based on German physicist Johannes Georg Bednorz’s discovery of high-temperature superconductors, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1987. AmpaCity replaces up to five conventional 10,000 volt cable systems.

Another fascinating project, to be shown in the Future City Lab, has been developed by the Building Art Invention research platform at the University of Kassel.-TradeArabia News Service