Under the theme “Country for the Future,” the Czech Republic Pavilion is, at its core, an original Solar Air Water Energy Resources (SAWER) system developed by Czech scientists from various disciplines. This system was created for Expo 2020 and autonomously produces water out of the air while it cultivates the desert. This system comprises five Czech patents and creates roughly 1,000 liters of water per day, which is used to irrigate the oasis surrounding the pavilion. The Czech staff also use a SUV Skoda iV electric car for transport, which has a zero-carbon footprint production, thanks to the purchase of CO2 credits and the compensatory construction of power plants using renewable sources. Lastly, the pavilion’s public toilets use the original SIKO innovation, meaning they can flush without the need for additional energy and only use one and a half liters of water instead of the usual five.
The dominant feature of the exterior is an oasis that grows in the desert. The visitors can see the transformation of sand into more fertile soil with their own eyes in an underground niche, where plants with mycorrhizal cultures grow inside a glass column. To strengthen the terrain waves of the garden, blocks printed on a 3D printer from a filament made of waste fat and desert sand are used. In a few years, they will naturally degrade and return to being just sand. The chefs grow vegetables and herbs for the restaurant in vertical gardens, and some of the plants grown are provided to other Expo 2020 pavilions for their own use. The construction and operation of the pavilion are also environmentally friendly. It consists of a steel structure that can be dismantled and reused at any time. The pavilion offers a combination of functional technologies that visitors can watch and, in some cases, even control.
Inside, there are two main sections of the pavilion: the permanent exhibition area and a rotating exhibition area that changes every two weeks with a different focus on technologies, innovations, etc. In the permanent exhibition, there are more than 20 individual exhibits featuring light installation, glass work, 3-D printing, art, and more. The Alga Oasis exhibit artistically presents how vertical photobioreactors can burn CO2 to produce nutritionally high-quality algae that can serve as a dietary supplement. The Glasio acoustic panels reduce the noise level in the exhibition and even absorb deep tones. They are made of shards of Bohemian crystal — i.e., they recycle the world-famous Czech glass.
In the pavilion, we explain language of the plants with technology called We Speak Plantish. This is phenotyping technology able to determine the feelings of the plants and their needs. We also have snow in the pavilion. To show 3D printing technology, we print 3D snowflakes which visitors can take home or help to build an original sculpture using these snowflakes.
