A cloud of steel capillaries shading the garden. Green garden, full of life and even in the desert. All thanks to the technological "water miracle" that the Czech Republic will officially present to the world at Expo 2020 in Dubai. Its gates are opening after a year's delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic, for the first time ever on Arab soil.
Through its pavilion - symbolically named Czech Spring - the Czech Republic intends to send a message to the world that it is one of the world's top academic and scientific nations. The ticket to the best is the Solar Air Water Earth Resource (S.A.W.E.R.) systém which can produce water directly from the air; the life-giving liquid is then used to irrigate the garden that lines the national pavilion. Right in the sands of Dubai, the Czech invention demonstrates how to create an oasis in the desert.
The construction of the Czech pavilion at Expo 2020 is being completed by another company. The previous one repeatedly violated the contract.
"The S.A.W.E.R. system is the driving force behind our exposition. It can turn dry desert air into water completely autonomously, using only solar energy. On the didactic wall we show how we extract energy from the sun, water molecules from the air, nutrients and minerals from bioreactors and life from the sandy subsoil. It is a technological marvel," described Lenka Maršálková, Marketing and Communications Manager of the Czech Pavilion.
The invention which was developed jointly by scientists from the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Czech Technical University, is said to have already attracted interest in the hosting United Arab Emirates and has also attracted the interest of Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
In the pavilion which is located on a 2,200 square metre site, the Czech Republic will present ten permanent exhibits and an equal number of thematic exhibitions, which will rotate throughout the duration of the exhibition. The themes will include water, design, technology and universities.
The Czechs also boast gadgets in the field of 3D printing. Průša Research will show a new generation of its printers and part of the exhibition is also the Brno University of Technology's robotic arm which uses sand and degradable bioplastic from waste grease for 3D printing. The technology is followed by another fully automated exhibit, PSI's We Speak Plantish. The phenotyping line can read a plant's genetic information just based on its reactions to light and music.
Rain made of glass
The Czech pavilion does not forget Czech glass either, presenting it in a modern form. For example, in the entrance gallery hangs a design installation from Lasvit called Golden Rain, composed of 300 light-pulsing lianas.
Outside, the pavilion is "guarded" by a giant robot sculpture called Victory of Robots, created from a single piece of granite by Jaroslav Róna. The robot which in a triumphant gesture raises a human skull above its head, represents in the words of its creator a warning to the human race against self-destruction and at the same time recalls "the monumental archaeological monuments of extinct civilisations, before which man bows in admiration and with a chill down his spine".
Expo 2020 will also feature a pantomime production of Robot Radius, based on Karel Čapek's drama "R.U.R" which turns 100 this year. "The robot itself is celebrating its 100th birthday, as the word first appeared in this play," added Maršálková.
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National Day of the Czech Republic will fall on the first day of spring, 21 March 2022 at the Dubai exhibition. The country in the heart of Europe will be portrayed as a land of springs, a hotbed of ideas and a spring garden. "A day-long programme linking nature with modern technology and Czech traditions will take place on various stages at the Dubai Exhibition Centre. Visitors will be attracted to the Czech pavilion by monumental puppets of the Czech lion, falcons and street theatre performers including Europe's best stilt walkers," the spokesperson noted.
A restaurant with traditional Czech cuisine is prepared for visitors to the Czech pavilion throughout the exhibition without pork dishes due to customs in Arab countries. However there will be beef goulash, chicken or veal schnitzel, potato pancakes or goulash soup, all of which can be washed down with Pilsner Urquell, of course.
The next World Expo is scheduled to take place in 2025 in Osaka, Japan, where it was held in 1970.