Structure for Shanghai Expo 2010 will be one of largest at the event

Construction has begun on Foster + Partners’ United Arab Emirates pavilion for the Shanghai Expo 2010.

Designed to resemble a sand dune, the pavilion will be one of the largest at next year’s Expo, rising 20m above the ground and hosting as much as 3,000m² of exhibition space. A treated stainless steel skin will allow the building to appear golden in the Shanghai sun.

Foster + Partners is just one of the architects designing pavilions for the Shanghai Expo. Heatherwick Studio has also designed a pavilion for the United Kingdom, having beaten architects Zaha Hadid, John McAslan and Marks Barfield in an open competition.