a closer look at expo 2025 osaka’s pavilion as the event nears
As anticipation builds for Expo 2025 Osaka, set to kick off on April 13, the event’s architectural landscape continues to take shape. This edition will be staged under the theme Designing Future Society for Our Lives, bringing together a host of national pavilions, public programming, art interventions, and private sector initiatives that will respond to global environmental challenges and explore sustainable solutions through the lens of heritage as well as technological innovations. Sou Fujimoto continues to make impressive progress on its monumental ringed masterplan, which will become the world’s largest timber structure upon completion. As the connective tissue of the Expo, it will serve as a circulation path, observation deck, public space, and events facility. Around it, and across the artificial island of Yumeshima in Japan, pavilions from nations across the world will raise conversations around themes such as sustainability, mobility, and cultural identity.
From Hungary’s haystack-like dome theater to Portugal’s ethereal wave of suspended ropes, each structure poses a unique story of heritage, materiality, and vision for the future. The Nordic Pavilion, built from forest-managed wood, champions circular design, while Saudi Arabia’s multi-sensory pavilion blends computational design with vernacular cooling techniques. Alongside these built interventions, Expo 2025 Osaka presents a collaborative platform for sustainability, technological innovation, and artistic engagement. Myaku-Myaku, the official mascot, is already busy garnering excitement, while initiatives such as the Future Society Showcase Project and the Art Expo’s immersive water and light performances promise to engage with pressing global, cultural challenges. Following on from our first roundup of some of the most exciting Expo pavilions, read on to learn more about what we can expect — from national pavilions to private showcases and the key moments shaping this landmark event.
image courtesy of Expo Osaka 2025
sui fujimoto’s timber masterplan as the expo’s centerpiece
Sui Fujimoto’s monumental ring is the centerpiece of Expo 2025 Osaka. Inspired by the architecture of ancient Japanese temples, the structure features intricate joinery of local sugi cedar and hinoki cypress, reinforced with metal elements for earthquake resistance. It spans 60,000 square meters and rises 20 meters high, forming a dynamic public space that shelters a circulation path beneath and hosts an elevated observatory deck overlooking the Expo site and Osaka Bay. Green roofs are woven throughout which will change with the seasons.
Within, four key event facilities tailored to diverse functions — from hosting dignitaries to accommodating performances, exhibitions, and cultural exchanges — bring the masterplan to life. The Guest House, with its Japanese-style corridor and garden, embodies the spirit of hospitality, while the EXPO Hall, inspired by the 1970 Osaka Expo’s Tower of the Sun, serves as a cultural arena. The EXPO National Day Hall celebrates international exchange through its layered indoor-outdoor spaces, and EXPO Messe provides a platform for global dialogue and trade.
As construction advances, Fujimoto, in conversation with designboom, describes the project as both an architectural and conceptual challenge that bridges historic regional timber construction with new technology. ‘This work is not only a wonderful trial for working on such a large scale but also an exciting challenge in terms of innovative construction techniques,’ the architect tells us.
image courtesy of Sui Fujimoto and Expo Osaka 2025
national pavilions
hungary pavilion hosts a theater under a haystack-like dome
Hungary’s forest-like pavilion echoes Sou Fujimoto’s circular island masterplan in its intricate materiality and experiential journey. The structure is rooted in heritage and a deep cultural connection, shaped from natural materials — namely small panels of wood and vernacular techniques shared by Hungarian and Japanese architecture. The exhibition will present a multi-sensory journey through a verdant path, enlivened with Hungarian folk melodies that begin the visitor journey, leading into a starry, atmospheric performance space that brings the tales of local legends to life. This immersive theater space is tucked beneath a wooden dome reminiscent of a haystack, alluding to rural life in Hungarian history.
image courtesy of Hungarian Pavilion and Expo 2025 Osaka
kengo kuma’s portugal pavilion is an ethereal wave
Designed by Kengo Kuma, Portugal’s pavilion recalls the nation’s deep ties to the waters under the theme Ocean: The Blue Dialogue. With suspended ropes and recycled fishing nets evoking waves, the facade appears to float and lends the impression of a wave caught in motion, symbolizing the nation’s maritime heritage. The structure’s eco-friendly materiality further champions a circular economy, highlighting Portugal’s role as a leader in addressing global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development.
The architects have divided the pavilion’s interior is divided in two sections. Sharing Knowledge explores Portugal’s 500-year maritime connection with Japan, showcasing historical artifacts, artistic displays, and interactive exhibits that trace the evolution of ocean sustainability technologies. The second section, Partnering for a Sustainable Future, is a multimedia experience culminating in a five-minute audiovisual installation that envisions a balanced relationship between humanity and the ocean.
image courtesy of Kengo Kuma & Associates
a three-act experience for all living species at the france pavilion
The French Pavilion, Theatrum Naturae, likewise looks to the natural, weaving an experiential journey in three acts — Ascent, Discovery of Nature, and Return to the Ground. Coldefy and Carlo Ratti Associati create a looping architectural path that integrates artificial and natural ecosystems, rising via a winding staircase into an observation balcony. As they move through, visitors cross an immersive threshold before arriving at a verdant terrace resembling a slice of nature serving as a protective barrier above the building, honoring France’s rich cultural and environmental contributions in the 21st century. The design team envisions the pavilion to welcome all living species to convene throughout the Expo, extending its lifecycle beyond the event to engage in a virtuous loop of reuse and recycling.
