Expo 2020 Dubai’s benches have got very special messages for you

DUBAI: Visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai will see them all across the site: the white calligraphy benches, inspired by various Arabic words. Providing more than a place to rest while taking in the mega event’s many sights and sounds, the seating offers an opportunity for people to immerse themselves in local culture. On World Arabic Language Day, commemorated on December 18, the benches are being celebrated.

Spread across Expo 2020’s three Thematic Districts, the fifty calligraphy-inspired designs are the result of a collaboration between celebrated British architect Asif Khan and innovative Amsterdam-based Arabic typographer Lara Captan, who turned crowdsourced words into usable works of art.

The thought-provoking words include ‘Peace’, ‘Cooperation’, ‘Humanity’, ‘Respect’ and ‘Friendship’.

Afiq Mohammed and Rose Hana of Malaysia initially did not notice the granite seats along Sidr Avenue near the UAE Pavilion were Arabic words but were interested to find out more, “The bench we are sitting on reads ‘Determination.’ It’s fitting. We are determined to visit all the pavilions.”

Norman Wong, who flew in from Hong Kong with his wife, Coco, and two teenage daughters said looking down on the benches from the top of a pavilion, was mesmerising.

Resting on a bench on Horizon Avenue in the Mobility District representing the word ‘Humanity’, Wong said: “I knew that the bench was calligraphy… [in the] local language, and I find it really, really outstanding. It brings out what the Expo is trying to do: make the local culture stand out.”

Shona Hamad travelled from Ras Al Khaimah with two friends, and took a break on a bench on Ghaf Avenue in Al Forsan Park. She revealed that in her local neighbourhood people also have calligraphy-inspired benches outside their homes, where they gather on cooler days. Hamad said it was a “good idea” to have the calligraphy benches at the Expo because visitors learn about the local language.

Hazel Abrea from the Philippines came to Expo with a large group of friends and their toddlers, and took a break on the ‘Determination’ bench on Al Sidr Avenue. “You have your lunch and get some rest, not knowing that you’re sitting on something that is beyond the aesthetics. Realising that the benches are actually words adds value to the visit.”

Along Sunset Avenue, Rabina B.K. from Nepal and her friends found the ‘Friendship’ bench and its backdrop near the UK Pavilion in the Opportunity District very ‘Instagrammable’ and wasted no time taking turns to click away on their mobile phones: “It is beautiful,’ she said.

Source: Expo 2020 Website