AL WASL Dubai

Architectural showpiece of EXPO2020

EXPO2020 Dubai

The 35th edition of the five-yearly world exhibition was held in Dubai, UAE, from October 2020 to April 2021. The main activities all took place in and around the Al Wasl Plaza, the architectural showpiece of EXPO2020. The structure can undoubtedly be added to Dubai's list of iconic structures.

DOME

Al Wasl consists of a 67-metre-high dome with a diameter of 130 metres. The dome is composed of steel rings that partially overlap each other to the design of prestigious architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. 
The dome is lined with a membrane on which moving images can be projected. Thus, Al Wasl acts as a 360° projection screen visible from both the inside and the outside.
The dome's rings were bent by Kersten. For this, about 1,100 steel tubes of S460NH material Ø508mm with different wall thicknesses of 10, 16, 20, 30 and 50mm were bent in different radii. These were bent using advanced induction bending technology. This involves heating the material locally before bending it.

Photo credits, design architects, design firm: © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture