Architectural Digest Middle East:
A Kinetic Facade Brings The New Zealand Pavilion to Life at Expo 2020
By Pratyush Sarup
Excerpt: A pioneering feat of engineering and craftsmanship, the pavilion’s innovative facade made from a unique architectural mesh called Kaynemaile.
Reinforcing the New Zealand Pavilion’s theme of ‘Care for People and Place’, which is based on kaitiakitanga, the environmental ethos of Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand Aotearoa, for Expo 2020 Dubai, architects Jasmax have crafted an environment that quite literally, comes to life with a pulsating façade that signifies humanity, nature and our inextricable connectedness.
Inviting Expo 2020 visitors into an immersive experience that pays homage to the mauri, or life principle, inherent in nature’s order, the New Zealand pavilion was inspired by the story the Whanganui River, which in 2017 was given legal personhood. In line with Māori values and worldview, the legislation recognised the river as a living and indivisible physical, charting new territory in how we may view and protect nature within urban ecosystems.
“Every element of the pavilion is interconnected; from the immersive visitor experience and storytelling rooms inside the pavilion, to the pulse, which starts in our river room and ripples all the way to the exterior façade” says Clayton Kimpton, New Zealand’s Commissioner-General to Expo 2020 Dubai. The Kaynemaile mesh on the façade ties the overarching experience of the pavilion together, giving it a sense of a living being.
The façade’s visual effect is designed by the acclaimed Art Director, Kayne Horsham, creator of the Kaynemaile architectural mesh, which was inspired by his work on the Academy Award-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy. Crafted from lightweight polycarbonate using a patented injection moulding process, the final product, which took six years to perfect is 100% recyclable and includes approximately 10% recycled materials in its composition.
Highlighting the unique design of the innovative architectural mesh, Kayne Horsham, CEO of Kaynemaile said “Kaynemaile is effectively bringing to life the exterior of the New Zealand pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, adding a unique look and feel that draws visitors in with its beautiful and complex 3D design.” Perfect for the Middle East, Kaynemaile reduces radiant heat transfer from direct sunlight to internal environments by up to 70%, thereby reducing a building’s dependency on installed cooling systems.
Designed to give an eye-catching, fluid effect, Kaynemaile was installed at the New Zealand Pavilion by a team of 14 experts. The process of installation took 22 days, with the biggest mesh piece weighing just 850kg but measuring 25 meters in height. The total pavilion footprint is about 2,000m2. To date, more than 350,000 manpower hours have been spent on site since New Zealand first broke ground.
