<Czech exhibition in Dubai: the S.A.W.E.R. system, 3D printers, and virtual reality>

Dubai/Prague – Key information about the Czech exhibition at this year's Expo in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which starts on October 1:

Pavilion: The design of the Czech pavilion, which consists of a "cloud of tubes," was created by architects Jindřich Ráftl and Jan Tůma from the studio Formosa AA, who won the bid with their design; the construction of the Czech pavilion is being carried out by the Dubai company Pico, which replaced the originally selected firm MCI.

Area size: The Czech pavilion is located on a plot of land measuring 2200 m², which also includes a restaurant offering traditional Czech cuisine.

Czech exposition: Czech Republic will be presented at Expo in the Sustainability zone, showcasing itself as a country of nature, science, and innovation; the exhibition in the Czech pavilion will feature ten permanent exhibits and ten thematic exhibitions that will rotate throughout the duration of the event; the rotating exhibitions will focus on topics such as water, design, technology, and universities.

National Day of the Czech Republic at Expo: March 21, 2022

Budget: The total budget for the Czech participation amounts to 350 million crowns; the contribution from the state budget, which was increased by 25.2 million last July, is 185.2 million crowns; Czech participation is funded on a PPP basis, i.e., in cooperation between the private and public sectors.

Website: www.czexpo.com

Some of the projects:

- The core of the national exposition will be the Solar Air Water Earth Resource (S.A.W.E.R.) system, which produces water from air using solar energy. The functioning of the system will be explained through animations on an educational wall in the pavilion. The development of the system involved the University Centre for Energy-Efficient Buildings and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague. The water produced by the S.A.W.E.R. system will be used to irrigate the garden around the national pavilion. According to Jiří František Potužník, the chief commissioner of the Czech participation in the exhibition, there is interest in the system from entities outside the United Arab Emirates, such as those from Riyadh or Malaysia.

- Prusa Research will showcase a new generation of its printers, and the exhibition will also feature a robotic arm from the Brno University of Technology that uses sand and biodegradable bioplastics made from waste fats for 3D printing. The third type of 3D printing will demonstrate technology from IQ Structures, which can create structures at the nanoscale level.

- The state agency CzechTourism will present the Czech Republic using virtual reality; the exhibition titled Czech Therapeutic Landscape will be the first rotating exhibition in the Czech pavilion from October 1 to 22. Visitors to the Expo will be able to, after donning special glasses, find themselves in a pool in Mariánské Lázně, on a Moravian vineyard, or on the rocks in the Bohemian Paradise. On October 5, CzechTourism Day will take place, which will include a spa workshop and a Pilsner beer tapping school, among other activities.

- The Czech pavilion will also continue the tradition of Czech glass in a modern form. For example, the entrance gallery will feature a design installation called Golden Rain, composed of 300 light-pulsing vines. It will also include the largest polished glass sculpture by Vlastimil Beránek.