Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025 Japan Pavilion

A Return to the Origins of Japanese Architecture The Japan pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, in Kansai, Japan: since ancient times, Japanese architecture has had a tradition of simple temporary structures such as “Hottate bashira“, or “Himorogi“ -- wooden structures erected for festive occasions. Returning to this rich architectural origin, the idea for this project was to compose an architectural structure that stands solely on wooden planks. A Forest-like Pavilion The Japan pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka is designed to reflect the exhibition theme, “Between Lives,” with an architecture that embodies “the cycle of life” through a repetitive, staggered arrangement of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels in a concentric circular formation. Wood is a material that symbolizes the circular economy. CLT in particular demonstrates the possibilities of wood use with thin lamina sheets to create a large format display. Most of the CLT used in the exhibit is leased from the Japan CLT Association, and will be carefully dismantled and returned when the event is over for reuse as new buildings. We thought wood would be an appropriate material for a building that expresses “circulation”, which is the concept of the entire pavilion. In addition, gaps that lead to the sky were created between the CLT boards, creating a forest-like environment where the “exterior and interior” and the “display and architecture” are continuously connected, and where countless spaces between the “trees” can be found. Fusing Exhibition and Architecture At past expos, pavilions were often designed as independent white cubes, with little to no integration between the exhibition and the architectural design. This project, however, sought a seamless integration of exhibition planning and architectural design, developing both in parallel. To complement the exhibition content, the pavilion creates a variety of “exhibiting environments”, including a bright, open atrium that allows natural light to filter through the membrane roof, a softly illuminated space with top lights that accentuate the CLT texture, a low-ceiling darkened room that encourages visitors to focus on the displays, and an iconic outdoor space where only the circular sky, water and trees can be seen, etc. Various display environments were planned for light and dark, large and small spaces, and for both inside and outside. All visitor flow lines were raised to the 2nd floor, and the main “cycle of life” exhibit, the decomposition, cultivation and generation of microorganisms, was concentrated on the 1st floor through an atrium, creating a three-dimensional space. The aim was to create a new pavilion architecture that allows visitors to experience the “story” of the exhibit with all five senses.