An Emirati architect has been selected by the BIE, the governing body for World Expos, to serve on a jury that will award the best pavilions at the Expo 2025 Osaka.
For Ahmed Bukhash, being asked to be part of a nine-member team that will choose the Official Participant Awards is a special honour, as he has deep links to Japan where he spent several years as a postgraduate student.
It shows the beauty of Expo and what every country has to offer
Ahmed Bukhash,
Emirati architect
Mr Bukhash is also the only Emirati architect to have designed a pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. The stark, white tent-like structure is one of the legacies that remains on the Expo City Dubai site, and has been redesigned as a museum on the world’s fair.
“It is honestly a lifelong dream not only to design an Expo pavilion in Dubai but also to be selected as a jury member in Japan, which I call my second home,” Mr Bukhash told The National. “It is a true privilege.”
Heartfelt message
Mr Bukhash just returned to the UAE after the first round of evaluations last month, when jurors assessed large and medium-sized pavilions at the Osaka Expo. The world's fair has welcomed more than five million visitors since it opened in April, with over 150 nations taking part.
The jurors return to Japan for the second round in October after which the winners will be announced in a ceremony on October 12, a day before the Expo ends.
Pavilions are judged on architecture, interior design and their connection to the Osaka Expo theme "Designing a future society of our lives".
When The National visited the Osaka Expo, some eye-catching pavilions that had people waiting in queues included those of Austria, Bahrain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Uzbekistan.
Mr Bukhash cannot reveal any details about the favourites but says the message must be "heartfelt".
“My advice for anybody travelling to the Expo is please do your own research because you will be surprised that regardless of scale, some of the content in terms of innovation, how to improve people's lives, whether through AI, technology, energy, is productive for our time and age,” he said.
“It shows the beauty of Expo and what every country has to offer.”
The awards for large, medium and small pavilions, and those that use shared spaces, are typically announced at the end of the six-month fair to encourage people to visit all venues. Judges exclude themselves when the team visits their home country pavilion to avoid a conflict of interest.
Shaded spaces
Mr Bukhash was pleased to see a focus on shaded spaces at the Osaka Expo similar to the attempt in Dubai to offer visitors respite from the summer heat.
“I was very happy to see architectural interventions that provide shading, spaces that reflect a kind of canopy system around the pavilion,” he said. “Our main challenge is the changing global climate. That is a problem that we are facing as we experience higher than normal exposure to the heat.”
As a student, Mr Bukhash studied the Japanese language for a year in Japan in 2003 before completing a master’s degree in architecture at the Kyoto Institute of Technology.
His education there is reflected in the work handled by Archidentity, the design studio he runs in Dubai.
Clean, uncluttered lines dominate residential villa, mosque projects and work on a Japanese school in Dubai. People-centric designs that adapt to the local environment are key.
“It's no longer about having extraordinary energy boosted into air-conditioning systems, but you really need to look at passive solutions to provide shading and a comfortable temperature,” Mr Bukhash said.
“A natural ventilation system protects us from the heat and allows for the natural flow of wind.”
Legacy design
Mr Bukhash was also a judge for the Dubai Expo 2020 where the Saudi, Dutch, Singaporean and Japanese pavilions were among those awarded for architectural and design excellence.
Working with the Expo in Dubai had an impact as he always factors in how the space can be used in the future.
“We always try to consider the past and future requirements,” he said. “When we design buildings, we think of how to expand its lifespan, so that as the family expands, so does the building with them.
"This is something we learnt when designing the Expo pavilion when we had to look at the immediate requirements and the legacy of what will happen post-Expo.”
Mr Bukhash's message to young students is to embrace technology, design with sensitivity and always think of the future.
“Technology is the way forward to provide innovation and it does not matter whether the client has an open or restricted budget, you should always design with sensitivity, care and efficiency,” he said. “You should consider the legacy so that it serves well in terms of any expansion in the future.”
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
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Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m, Winner SS Lamea, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer).
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m, Winner AF Makerah, Sean Kirrane, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m, Winner Maaly Al Reef, Brett Doyle, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 1,600m, Winner AF Momtaz, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m, Winner Morjanah Al Reef, Brett Doyle, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,200m, Winner Mudarrab, Jim Crowley, Erwan Charpy
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
