Pavillion

Slovenian wisdom, innovation and energy

In Dubai, Slovenia's motto will be Slovenia. Green and Smart Experience, a nod to the country's sustainable, modern and creative nature. Visitors from all over the world will experience stories about the unique interplay of pristine nature, knowledge, innovation and breakthrough businesses.

  • 1550 m2 exhibition area
  • 8 February 2022 - Slovenian National Day at Expo 2020
  • 11 thematic sets of authentic Slovenian experiences
  • Spectacular 360° video projection of Slovenian icons of natural and cultural heritage and breakthrough solutions of Slovenian economy
  • 45+ events promoting Slovenian knowledge and different opportunities for cooperation
  • 25+ million visitors from all over the world at EXPO 2020

Slovenia will symbolise the green heart of Europe at the Expo, addressing visitors with authentic images and extraordinary multimedia presentations that will allow them to experience the parts of the country Slovenians are most proud of.

At every step, visitors will be presented with a good reason to explore Slovenia and to spread messages changing the world for the better.

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Story of Slovenia's Pavilion

Slovenia's pavilion, designed by Robert Klun and Sandi Pirš and their team at Magnet Design, was selected in April 2019 in an open call organised by the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology. It represents an oasis floating on water, reflecting the designers' wish to showcase Slovenia's wisdom, innovativeness and energy. The pavilion has already captured the attention of the international public in architecture and received a special mention from Architecture MasterPrize in October 2019 in the category Exhibition.

The pavilion is located on a 1,550 square metre exhibition plot in the Sustainability sub-theme segment and has an excellent location right next to one of the three entry points to the Expo 2020 grounds.

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The pavilion highlights three elements that are distinctive of Slovenia: Water, the source of life and vitality, the interflow of materials and ideas; Nature, connecting the Earth with the universe, knowledge and innovativeness, and Slovenia's green and clean heart; and Innovativeness, represented by a giant wooden sunshade, our shield and shelter, a technological masterpiece of construction and design illustrating Slovenia's strong identity. The pavilion construction innovatively includes prefabricated, sustainable and biodegradable elements of metal, glass, wood and stone.

The appealing exterior of the pavilion represents Slovenia's forests. The outer walls of the wooden structure are rich with vegetation, which will provide welcome relief from the heat to visitors. The plants will be cooled and watered with the help of an innovative system developed in Slovenia. The innovativeness of Slovenian businesses is reflected in the roof, shaped like a strainer and made of Slovenian wood. The inspiration for the roof comes from wooden tools made by craftsmen from the town of Ribnica, which 400 years ago became the first Slovenian-made products allowed to be sold abroad. The entry into the pavilion is below the surface level and completely surrounded by water, which will make a visit to the pavilion a refreshing experience.

The pavilion is designed as a smart environment, allowing visitors a virtual experience of the future with the use of advanced digital solutions. The interior is equipped with innovatively designed LCD surfaces on the walls, ceiling and floor, making for impressive presentation of stories and achievements coming from Slovenia. Lighting pulses imitating the rhythm of the heart will draw visitors from far away, inviting them for an emotional exploration of the country.

 

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GROUND FLOOR

The central part of the ground floor – The Europe Square is designed multifunctionally, since it serves as a central area for visitors and as a space for events, networking and rest. The circular square, illuminated from the ceiling by honeycomb-shaped lights, is a meeting point for visitors and the start of exploration of the pavilion. The Europe Square symbolically represents Slovenia as the heart of Europe, the central European port in the heart of the Alps and just a stone's throw away from the Adriatic Sea. The floor painting of the Europe Square  represents the image of a wind flower, the Compass of Europe, pointing to all four sides of the sky and in the direction of Venice, Vienna, Paris and London. From the square, access to other areas of the pavilion is also provided for disabled people, as well as elderly visitors and VIP guests through an elevator that leads the visitors through all floors just below the all-Slovenian parasol, a large wooden sieve that protects our pavilion from the strong Arabian sun.

There are two separate areas adjacent to The Europe Square, one is the Showroom where Slovenian companies and the Slovenian Tourist Board have the space for their presentations, and the other, the Interactive Room which functions as an innovative space for presentation of pearls of Slovenian natural and cultural heritage and sports achievements.

SHOWROOM – SPACE FOR PROMOTION OF SLOVENIAN ECONOMY AND TOURISM - GREEN.CREATIVE.SMART

Slovenia wants to present the Slovenian breakthrough companies in the best possible way and to the greatest extent possible, so the companies will be able to present their best in a  circular shaped exhibition space “The Showroom”. The aim is to present innovative Slovenian companies, their products and services for business opportunities in the Arab world and beyond.

In the middle of the Showroom, there are three drinkers, where visitors can pour drinking water into their own bottle. It is a presentation of the Slovenian product "My Water" and a symbolic promotion of pure drinking tap water. The aim is to show that in Slovenia we still have clean drinking water from the tap, at the same time, we raise awareness of the importance of maintaining clean drinking water for humanity.

There is also an information desk of the Slovenian Tourist Board, where promotional films about Slovenia will be shown.

INTERACTIVE ROOM - "I FEEL SLOVENIA"

The purpose of the oval-shaped Interactive Room is to achieve a strong visual image of natural and cultural heritage, tourism and sports achievements in an innovative and interactive way.

FIRST FLOOR

CENTRAL PRESENTATION OF GREEN AND SMART SLOVENIA WITH A 360-DEGREE PRESENTATION FILM ABOUT SLOVENIA'S NATURAL, TOURIST, INNOVATIVE AND BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATIONS' HERITAGE

By entering the first floor, the outer façade of which is overgrown with rich vegetation, the visitor enters through a darkened door into the first of two rooms, where he gets a holistic experience of Slovenia. The visitor walks through two rooms: the first, GREEN ROOM and the second, SMART ROOM. The goal is for the visitor to have a visual and sensory experience that communicates to the world how Slovenia contributes to a better life in the world with sustainable solutions for natural coexistence and technological achievements of our great compatriots.

SECOND FLOOR

SLOVENIAN BUSINESS CENTER

The Slovenian pavilion will be visited by many high level guests, cultural figures, businessmen and high representatives of domestic and foreign world politics from the homeland as well as European and foreign delegations, besides high-ranking domestic guests from the Middle East, United Arab Emirates and Dubai. The Slovenian Business Center of the second floor of the Slovenian pavilion will thus act as a second home of Slovenian companies, their high level meetings, government representatives and their protocol guests for the duration of six months.

Thematic sets at the Slovenian pavilion

Slovenia's presentation will be divided into themed segments, allowing a comprehensive presentation of the country's potential in different fields and drawing the visitors' attention to stories that showcase Slovenian know-how, progressiveness and innovativeness.

The events will be coordinated with other events at the Expo and will complement stories featured in other countries' pavilions.

01.10.2021
31.03.2022
1

Climate and biodiversity

02.10. - 16.10.2021
2

Space

17.10. - 30.10.2021
3

Urban and rural development and smart buildings

31.10. - 20.11.2021
4

Factories of the future and materials development

21.11. - 04.12.2021
5

Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence

05.12. - 25.12.2021
6

Travel, Connectivity & Mobility

26.12. - 15.01.2022
7

Sustainable Development, Green Technologies & Wood

16.01. - 26.01.2022
8

Health & Wellbeing

27.01. - 16.02.2022
9

Food & Farming

17.02. - 05.03.2022
10

Culture & Creative Industries

06.03. - 19.03.2022
11

Water

20.03. - 31.03.2022
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SPIRIT Slovenia, public agency
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