Santa’s Sustainable House Scenic Fabrication at Expo City Dubai

Building Santa’s Sustainable House at Expo City Dubai

Santa’s Sustainable House was created for Winter City 2023 at Expo City Dubai as a complete festive environment built around sustainable materials and immersive scenic construction. The original attraction combined Christmas storytelling with sustainability education inside a visually detailed interactive house.

Evolution Scenic designed, fabricated and installed the entire freestanding temporary structure.

The delivery extended beyond the visible front elevation. It included the primary house construction, multiple roof profiles, artificial-snow finishes, entrance architecture, windows, doors, fencing, access ramps, interior walls and ceilings, a fireplace environment, decorative timber beams, custom furniture, storage joinery, workshop tables, Christmas trees, wrapped presents, detailed props, flooring, lighting and electrical systems.

The result needed to feel like one coherent house, even though it was constructed as a temporary modular scenic installation.

Fabricating the Festive Exterior

The external façade combined a varied roofline with shaped gables, painted wall sections, framed openings and strong red and green detailing. Artificial-snow treatments were applied across the roof profiles to create the winter appearance. The snow finish also visually connected roof sections that differed in height and shape.

The entrance was developed as a principal scenic feature. Candy-cane columns framed the doorway, while the Santa’s Sustainable House sign established a clear focal point above the opening. Windows and doors were treated as architectural components within the façade rather than simply applied graphics. Contrasting surrounds, painted trims and adjacent decorative details gave the elevation additional depth.

Picket fencing enclosed the exterior areas and helped define the footprint of the attraction. Access ramps were incorporated into the installation, connecting the surrounding area to the raised temporary house.

The exterior needed to work at two scales. From a distance, the roof silhouette, entrance sign and colour palette established the identity of the building. At closer range, the layered trims, artificial snow, windows, doors, candy-cane columns and scenic decorations provided the detail expected from an immersive attraction.

Using Materials as Part of the Visual Language

The material palette included timber-based construction, OSB-style panels, painted sheet materials and applied scenic finishes. The OSB-style surfaces were not treated only as concealed structural material. Their visible texture supported the workshop character and contributed to the sustainability-led appearance of the interior.

This allowed the material choice to become part of the storytelling. Areas that required a cleaner architectural finish received painted surfaces, while selected textured panels retained a more practical fabricated appearance. Timber-based construction also provided flexibility across the complete scope. Similar workshop methods could be used for structural modules, shaped roof components, façade profiles, shelves, worktables, storage units and other custom joinery.

The project incorporated reused or recycled materials. Exact material percentages and product specifications have not been supplied, so the case study does not assign recycled content to specific components. Energy-efficient LED lighting formed the second confirmed sustainability measure. The lighting was integrated into the temporary house to support both the exterior identity and the internal scenic environment.

Creating a Complete Interior Workshop

The interior was constructed as a sequence of detailed scenic settings. Walls and ceilings enclosed the environment, while exposed timber-style beams and OSB-style surfaces established the architectural character. Painted areas, red window treatments and carefully positioned decorative elements introduced contrast across the rooms.

One of the principal spaces resembled a working office or workshop. A substantial timber worktable occupied the centre of the setting, supported by storage units, shelves, display surfaces and small scenic props. The furniture and joinery were proportioned to the room and positioned as part of the complete visual composition.

Wall-mounted materials, shelving and decorative objects created depth around the central table. Rather than leaving large areas of undecorated wall, the interior used multiple fabricated and dressed surfaces to create the appearance of an active working environment.

Evolution Furniture supported the furniture package, while Evolution Prop Shop contributed to the decorative content and detailed dressing. These specialist elements were coordinated with the scenic build rather than added without reference to the architecture. Shelves, counters and tables were positioned according to the room layout, sightlines and circulation requirements.

Constructing the Fireplace Setting

A separate interior area was organised around a brick-effect feature wall and decorative fireplace.

The brick-effect scenic treatment established a warmer domestic setting distinct from the workshop-style surfaces elsewhere in the house.

The fireplace surround provided the main fabricated focal point. Hanging stockings, framed details, wrapped presents and a decorated Christmas tree completed the setting. The surrounding window, curtain treatments, furniture and prop placement created multiple layers within the room. This ensured the area remained visually complete when viewed from different directions rather than functioning only as a front-facing photographic backdrop.

The use of scenic construction, furniture and props as one coordinated system was essential to the finished result. The fireplace wall provided the architectural context. The custom and supplied furniture established the usable room arrangement. The trees, stockings, presents and detailed props then developed the festive narrative within that structure.

Integrating Lighting and Electrical Systems

Evolution Technical supported the lighting and electrical components of the house. Energy-efficient LED lighting was used as part of the sustainability approach. The fixtures helped establish the warmth of the interior spaces and supported the visibility of the exterior sign, façade details and decorative features.

The lighting needed to work with the selected scenic finishes. Warm internal illumination enhanced the timber and OSB-style surfaces, while the Christmas trees, fireplace environment and decorated shelving required more focused lighting to retain their detail.

Because the house was assembled from modular wall and ceiling sections, electrical routes had to remain compatible with the temporary construction. Services needed to pass through or alongside the fabricated architecture without interrupting visible surfaces.

The exact lighting fixture schedule and electrical control arrangement have not been provided. The confirmed scope is limited to Evolution Scenic’s supply of the lighting and electrical systems with support from Evolution Technical.

Engineering for Temporary Public Use

Structural stability and fire-rated materials were confirmed technical requirements. The house needed to remain stable as a freestanding temporary structure throughout its operating period. The wall modules, roof sections, entrance features and internal construction therefore had to work as one connected scenic assembly.

The external ramps and fencing were also part of the installed environment. Their connections and positioning needed to be coordinated with the house footprint rather than treated as unrelated temporary accessories. Fire-rated materials formed part of the project requirements. The supplied information does not identify the individual material classifications or certification documents, and these have not been inferred.

Temporary environments intended for interactive use normally require careful control of structural connections, projecting details, decorative fixings, electrical components and access routes. These considerations reflect Evolution Scenic’s standard methodology. Only structural stability and the requirement for fire-rated materials are presented as confirmed project facts.

A Complete Sustainable Scenic Environment

Santa’s Sustainable House demonstrated how a temporary attraction could combine structural scenic construction with detailed interior production. The exterior established a complete festive building through its roof profiles, artificial snow, shaped gables, entrance sign, candy-cane columns, windows, doors, fencing and ramps.

The interior extended the environment through scenic walls, ceilings, exposed beams, custom joinery, a brick-effect fireplace setting, furniture, trees, presents and workshop props. Reused or recycled materials and energy-efficient LED lighting supported the sustainable brief. Modular workshop construction supported the one-week programme and the later dismantling of the temporary house.

The completed project depended on more than decorative finishing. It required the coordination of temporary architecture, structural stability, scenic fabrication, interior construction, technical systems, furniture and prop dressing. That integrated approach allowed Evolution Scenic to deliver Santa’s Sustainable House as a complete immersive environment at Expo City Dubai.