So what's going to happen to the Expo 2020 site post-expo?
The future of the huge site currently being built for Expo 2020 has been revealed…
We’re all excited about Expo 2020 – which we imagine, being in Dubai, will be next-level – but the question for many is, what will happen to the 4km long and 1.8km wide site once the expo actually wraps up?
Well, the legacy plans for the site have been revealed today: the area will become District 2020, a new mega-suburb in Dubai where you’ll be able to live, learn, work and more.
Here’s a video that shows what District 2020 will look like:
This rendering gives a good overview of what the mixed-use community will look like…
There will be 65,000 square metres of residential space and 135,000 square metres of commercial space in District 2020, as well as a conference and exhibition centre (and all building will meet the LEED Gold standards in sustainable construction).
*WATCH: This is what the UAE Pavilion at Expo 2020 will look like*
The new community will be designed to be highly walkable, it will have 10 kilometres of cycling tracks, 45,900 square metres of parks (that’s the equivalent of six football pitches) and it will have Al Wasl Square as a main gathering point…
Remember, Al Wasl Square will be the huge interactive dome in the centre of the Expo 2020 site: the square will be 150 metres in diameter, which means it will be about as wide as one of the JBR buildings laid down sideways. The dome that sits over it is also a giant projection screen and it will be 65 metres tall (about the height of a 20 storey building).
Oh, and District 2020 will be one of the first communities in the world connected to 5G, which means your YouTube stream will never lag (4G is so 2017).
There will be museums and galleries in the District (which we’re sure we’ll get more details of soon), as well as a huge Children’s Science Centre in the building that will be the Sustainability Centre during Expo 2020:
The commercial and office spaces at District 2020 will focus on boosting the knowledge-based economy in Dubai, and there will be offices small enough for startups, as well as big enough for multinational companies.
Here’s a model from Cityscape Global (which started today) that shows the Expo 2020 site during the expo…
And here is what it will look like post-Expo 2020 when it becomes District 2020:
(You can see that it will be slightly more built up once it’s transformed into District 2020).
The positioning of the site means the centres of both Abu Dhabi and Dubai can be reached within an hour, plus it has access to Jebel Ali Port and the worlds largest airport, Dubai International. Remember, there is also a purpose-built metro line for Expo 2020, so it will be well-connected to Dubai’s public transport system.
Would you live there?
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Photos: Supplied