Behind several of the most anticipated pavilions at EXPO 2025 Osaka lies BeWunder’s expertise in turning architectural visions into captivating, multisensory realities. The World Expo is a dynamic stage where architecture, design, and technology converge to create compelling narratives about the future. The pavilions act as canvases where abstract ideas are brought to life through an orchestration of light, sound, and interactive technology. designboom takes a look at pavilions, created in collaboration with BeWunder, pushing the boundaries of spatial design and turning a passive visit into an active, immersive multimedia journey.

USA Pavilion | image ©Hufton+Crow, all images courtesy of ​​BeWunder

FROM STAGED EXPERIENCES TO FULL-SCALE EVENT PRODUCTION

As a specialist in museums, exhibitions, and brand pavilions, BeWunder serves as a turnkey partner for creating unforgettable spatial experiences. The company‘s passion lies in producing multisensory visitor experiences that combine multimedia technology, content, staged lighting, interactive elements, and scenery. With an end-to-end approach, BeWunder’s team is expertly positioned to bridge the gap between creative vision and its physical reality. Their proven international track record in both live events and permanent construction has positioned them to deliver exceptional projects, regardless of scope, scale, or location.

designed as an architectural homage to openness and progress, the Kuwait Pavilion features bold open wings

TURNKEY PROJECTS AND HIGHLIGHTS FROM BEWUNDER

For the USA, Netherlands, and Philippines Pavilions, BeWunder served as a turnkey design and build contractor, taking full responsibility for the final design and delivery. Their scope encompassed an integrated approach, covering everything from initial concept development and feasibility studies to the final delivery of multimedia and lighting systems, interactive elements, scenic fit-out, exhibit fabrication, graphics, print, and signage. 

Each project was uniquely defined by its architectural and cultural narrative. Inspired by the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, the USA Pavilion’s architectural form consists of two triangular wooden structures contrasted by a suspended, illuminated cube. BeWunder supported the exhibition design team by further developing the concept, ensuring that technology, storytelling, and spatial design worked hand-in-hand to create a compelling and immersive experience for visitors. Similarly, for the Philippines Pavilion, whose design pays tribute to Filipino heritage and features over 200 handwoven textiles, BeWunder managed the installation of the exterior facade and coordinated all artworks to bring the creative vision to life with precision. A highlight of the Netherlands Pavilion was the design and manufacturing of a bespoke interactive sphere system, enabling visitors to engage with content in dynamic, personalized ways.

BeWunder was responsible for the complete multimedia and lighting systems inside the Kuwait Pavilion exhibition

BeWunder also applied its specialized skills in audio-visual and lighting systems to achieve the vision for a number of other pavilions, including the Kuwait, Luxembourg, and Germany Pavilions. The Kuwait Pavilion, with its distinctive open wings, was brought to life with comprehensive interior multimedia and lighting systems. This expertise extended to the exterior as well, with the team designing and installing the façade and landscape lighting to highlight the structure’s unique architecture, especially at night.

From a monumental spiral sculpture of the Austria Pavilion to a moving stage in the Uzbekistan Pavilion, BeWunder created standout features, designed for unforgettable, multisensory journeys. A groundbreaking 100-channel audio system in the Austria Pavilion enables visitors to collaboratively create music, turning the inside into an active and participatory experience. For the Switzerland Pavilion, BeWunder’s expertise was focused on an integrated lighting setup that animated the pavilion’s iconic bubble effects. Meanwhile, a standout feature of the Uzbekistan Pavilion was a moving stage that transports visitors between floors while being fully immersed in projection content. For the Luxembourg Pavilion, a key highlight of their scope was the development and delivery of custom-made LED screens, manufactured specifically for the project to meet unique design and spatial requirements.

Switzerland’s Pavilion is driven by three key themes: life, planet, and augmented human

Beyond full-scale delivery, BeWunder’s partner mindset allowed them to provide targeted technical and consultancy services. For the Portugal Pavilion, they acted as a consultant, offering feasibility studies and value engineering to align design intent with budget and technical feasibility. Similarly, for the UAE Pavilion, BeWunder served as a media hardware planner, responsible for the design and specification of all AV technology. This comprehensive range of services ensures that every client, regardless of their specific needs, can bring their creative vision to life.

the Portugal Pavilion offers an interactive experience, inviting visitors to explore the ocean as a life-giving resource

BeWunder served as the turnkey design & build contractor for the visitor experience at the Philippines Pavilion

with its theme of common ground, the Netherlands Pavilion aims to foster openness and cooperation

for the UAE Pavilion, BeWunder ensured the AV system fully supports and enhances the creative vision

the Germany Pavilion centres on the theme of circular economy, with the title Wa! Germany

the European Union Pavilion highlights the EU’s commitment to building a sustainable, inclusive, and secure future

the USA Pavilion invites visitors to imagine a future where collaboration and creativity lead global progress

project info:

name: Turnkey Projects at Osaka Expo 2025

company: BeWunder | @bewunder_expierences

location: Osaka, Japan

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The Future Life Village pavilion stands at the heart of Expo 2025 Osaka as an official venue organized under the theme of ‘Co-Creation and Dialogue.’ Designed by Japanese studio KOMPAS as a tiny, village-like complex, the pavilion brings together three exhibition programs — Future Life Experience, Team Expo Pavilion, and Best Practices.

Reflecting the Expo’s guiding principle of ‘Decentralization and Dispersion,’ the design draws from the ecological memory of Yumeshima, a reclaimed island transformed into a biodiverse wetland. At its core is a central courtyard that acts as living green infrastructure, symbolizing the cycle of life. Scattered planting beds and ponds highlight individual plant species, encouraging visitors to encounter an environment where people and nature coexist.

images © Yohei Sasakura

gabion walls infuse the structure with landscape

Around the courtyard of Osaka’s Future Life Village, circular exhibition units of varying sizes are positioned along a continuous ring-shaped circulation path. With this configuration, the team at KOMPAS allows each unit to function independently while maintaining a sense of collective unity within the Expo. The ring pathway creates a natural flow of people, and invites visitors to freely explore the village.

Exhibition units facing the courtyard are built with gabion walls, or hollow mesh partitions filled with stone. Constructed with steel rebar trusses and welded mesh, these cage-like walls support ventilation, filter sunlight, and even welcome plant growth. Their infills — vitrified slag stones from incinerated industrial waste and synthetic pumice made from recycled glass — highlight the project’s experimental use of recycled materials and its commitment to sustainability within the urban context of Osaka.

Future Life Village pavilion opens at Expo 2025 Osaka with a design by KOMPAS

experimental pavilion for passive climate strategies

Rainwater and irrigation runoff are collected in a central pond, forming part of a heat exchange system that cools semi-outdoor spaces of the Future Life Village in Osaka. In summer, water is sprinkled over the gabion walls to lend passive cooling, which demonstrates a holistic approach to water circulation and natural climate control. This integration of architecture and landscape establishes the pavilion as an experimental model of sustainable design.

The adjacent public restrooms extend the project’s environmental strategies at a smaller scale. Built with cross-laminated timber roofing and clerestory windows, its circular layout supports efficient circulation and naturally illuminates the interiors. 

the project unites three exhibition programs and public facilities in a single complex

a central courtyard reflects the biodiversity of reclaimed Yumeshima Island

a timber restroom facility extends the sustainable design approach

planting beds and ponds create a biodiverse landscape

circular exhibition units connect through a continuous ring pathway for easy flow

Gabion walls made of recycled materials merge the architecture with the landscape

project info:

name: Future Life Village

architect: KOMPAS | @kompas_arch

location: Expo 2025 Osaka | @expo2025japan

area: 1,272 square meters (13,690 square feet)

completion: 2025

photography: © Yohei Sasakura | @yoheisasakura

structure: Graph Studio
MEP: ZO Consulting Engineers
landscape: eiko tomura landscape architects
contractor: Sanda Komuten Inc.

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The PASONA NATUREVERSE Pavilion, designed by the design labo Inc. for Expo 2025 Osaka, is conceived as a spiral structure inspired by the form of an ammonite. With a diameter of 43 meters, the pavilion establishes a spatial framework where themes of life, ecology, and the interconnection between humanity and nature are explored.

The ammonite form serves as both architectural reference and symbolic gesture, linking the micro- and macro-scale dimensions of natural systems. Visitors are guided along a spiraling path that evokes continuity and cyclical movement, while the geometry reinforces the concept of humanity as part of a broader ecological context.

all images courtesy of the design labo Inc.

design labo integrates sustainability with Cultural Context

For the design labo studio, environmental performance is integral to the design. The pavilion employs a water-based cooling system in which a thin film flows across the roof surface, promoting evaporative cooling and reducing the need for air-conditioning. Rainwater, collected alongside the rooftop water, is reused within the building for non-potable functions, reducing reliance on external resources.

Following the Expo, the pavilion is scheduled to be dismantled and reassembled on Awaji Island, a site recognized as one of Japan’s important ammonite fossil beds. This relocation extends the life of the structure and establishes a continuity between form, place, and geological history. Through its material strategy, environmental systems, and symbolic geometry, the PASONA NATUREVERSE Pavilion integrates sustainability with cultural and ecological reference, presenting architecture as a medium that bridges natural history and contemporary design practice.

the PASONA NATUREVERSE Pavilion stands as a 43-meter ammonite-inspired spiral

designed by the design labo Inc. for Expo 2025 Osaka

the spiral form guides visitors through cyclical pathways

architecture and ecology converge in a symbolic ammonite shape

the design emphasizes ecological awareness through spatial form

the spiraling geometry recalls continuity and natural cycles

after the Expo, the pavilion will be dismantled and relocated

project info:

name: PASONA NATUREVERSE
architect: the design labo Inc. / Satoshi Itasaka | @itasaka.satoshi

location: Expo 2025 Osaka, Japan

client: Pasona Group Inc.

design supervision: Maeda Corporation First-Class Architects Office

construction: Maeda Corporation

site area: 3,514.42 sqm

building area: 2,263.83 sqm

total floor area: 2,457.70 sqm

structure: Steel structure

floors: 2 (above ground)

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At Expo 2025 in Osaka, Suntory debuts Lidris, a robot that creates three-dimensional illustrations directly inside liquids using drink-drawing technology.

At Suntory’s Park Café pavilion, a glass of lemonade served at Expo 2025 includes the image of the fair’s mascot Myaku-Myaku suspended within the drink, not printed on the surface but formed directly in the liquid in real time. This unexpected moment is made possible by Lidris, the robot that injects food-safe inks with precise fluid control to transform an ordinary drink into a drinkable illustration.

The system behind Lidris combines elements of robotics, food science, and fluid mechanics. A compact drawing device, about the size of a standard coffee machine, uses a specialized nozzle system to inject colored liquids into a soft drink base, layering lines with enough control to maintain their shape within the fluid. The beverage itself is specially formulated to hold the drawings in place, with the right thickness and flow to keep the image clear and stable. According to Suntory, the resulting images can last over an hour indoors, even if the glass is gently moved or shaken.

images courtesy of Suntory

Customizable Beverages on Demand at expo 2025 osaka

While it may appear like a novelty, Lidris by the Japanese beverage company Suntory, is positioned as a broader rethinking of beverage service. The platform is designed to be flexible and customizable, with adjustable flavors, colors, and alcohol content to suit a wide range of occasions, from birthday parties and seasonal events to more commercial applications like branded drinks or themed entertainment. Serving the drink is intended to be part of the experience, with the machine completing the drawing in real time, allowing customers to watch as the design forms in their glass.

Beyond hospitality, the potential use cases for Lidris extend into education and science communication. The technology can serve as a tool for exploring fluid dynamics, food chemistry, and design in interactive and accessible ways. The pigments used to create the designs are made from natural sources, such as lycopene derived from tomatoes, and the machine is compact enough to be installed in small cafés or event venues, requiring just a 50-centimeter square space and a standard power outlet. Operation is simplified through a manual system designed for part-time staff. While still in development, Lidris offers a glimpse into how food, technology, and user experience might intersect in the near future.

Lidris creates three-dimensional illustrations directly inside beverages

the robot injects food-safe inks with precise fluid control inside drinks

the system behind Lidris combines elements of robotics, food science, and fluid mechanics

the machine completes the drawing in real time, allowing customers to watch as the design forms in their glass

the device uses a specialized nozzle system to inject colored liquids into a soft drink base

the resulting images can last over an hour indoors

the pigments used to create the designs are made from natural sources

project info:

name: Lidris

developer: Suntory | @suntory_jp

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MORF designs the Colombia Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka as a temporary national exhibition space that combines narrative-driven design with modular, sustainable construction. The design draws conceptual inspiration from the opening lines of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Referencing the moment a young boy encounters ice for the first time, the design interprets this narrative through an architectural motif titled ‘ICE CUBE.’

The pavilion’s facade is composed of numerous translucent cubes, oriented in varying directions to create a sense of motion and texture. These cubes are constructed from semi-transparent polycarbonate panels and equipped with programmable lighting. This feature enables the facade to shift in appearance over the course of the day and night, serving as both a visual marker and a platform for presenting Colombian culture within the Expo context.

all images by Forward Stroke Inc., Koji Okumura, Susumu Matsui

adaptive design and visual storytelling define Colombia Pavilion

MORF’s design team organizes the structure around a prefabricated light steel frame system, selected to accommodate the short construction timeline and environmental considerations typical of Expo buildings. The frame sits on a floating foundation system, allowing construction to adapt to the site’s soil limitations. Excavated portions of this foundation are utilized to create a mezzanine level for back-of-house operations, optimizing the spatial configuration within the pavilion’s limited footprint.

Visitors enter through a central hall that includes a Colombian coffee bar, highlighting a key cultural product. The open and adaptable interior space supports various exhibition layouts, ensuring flexibility throughout the event duration. The exhibition narrative presents Colombia as ‘the Country of Beauty’ through the conceptual lens of Magical Realism. The Yellow Butterfly, drawn from García Márquez’s novel as a symbolic bridge between reality and imagination, acts as a guiding motif throughout the pavilion’s immersive environments. In addition to its role during Expo 2025, the pavilion has been designed with a post-event lifecycle in mind. Its modular steel structure allows for easy disassembly and reconstruction in a new context. Discussions are currently underway regarding its future use after the Expo concludes.

translucent cubes form the dynamic facade of the Colombia Pavilion

the ‘ice cube’ concept organizes the pavilion’s outer skin into shifting geometries

polycarbonate panels allow light to transform the building throughout the day

a prefabricated steel frame system supports fast, efficient construction

programmable lighting animates the facade with subtle color transitions

a layered facade conveys movement and complexity in form

the structure’s light steel components can be reused after the Expo

the pavilion demonstrates how storytelling informs architectural form

sustainable materials and modular planning shape the pavilion’s life cycle

project info:

name: Colombia Pavilion Osaka Expo 2025

architect: MORF Inc. | @a.morf.jp

location: Osaka, Japan

client: ProColombia

site area: 875,89 sqm

footprint area: 513,42 sqm

total floor area: 584,44 sqm

project director: Karim Chahal

principal architect: Ko Oono

lead architect: Masaki Suzuki

project architects: Won Sungmin, Gen Kurokawa

assistant project manager: Maki Nomura

associate architect: AA-DC

project architect: Nicole Del Santo

structural design: Ando Imagineering Group (AIG)

lead structural designer: Kosaku Ando

structural designer: Toshiki Tanabe

general contractor: Sakane Sangyou Inc.

construction manager: Tsunehiko Muroi

modular structure contractor: NS Hi-Parts

representative director: Atsushi Morioki

landscape design & construction: 1moku Landscape Design & Research

lead landscape architect: Hirofumi Suga

exhibition design & construction: Sigongtech

general managers: Junseok Kang, Karen Ko

lead designer: Hansol Lee

senior designers: Hanna Lee, Sohee Jang

photographer: Forward Stroke Inc., Koji Okumura, Susumu Matsui

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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A sweeping timber ring — the largest of its kind in the world — encircles the Expo 2025 Osaka site on Yumeshima Island, Japan, anchoring the world fair. Conceived by Sou Fujimoto, the Grand Ring serves as the Expo’s circulatory core and forms a new landmark on the island, connecting national pavilions, performance venues, and public spaces beneath an expansive wooden canopy that doubles as a skywalk. A new series of photographs by William Mulvihill captures the complete structure in striking detail, highlighting its scale, construction, lightness, atmosphere, and material elegance. Following the photographer’s visual journey capturing the Expo’s national pavilions, this new series documents the monumental structure’s vast footprint while highlighting the intricacy of its lattice of timber beams.

all images by William Mulvihill

sou fujimoto’s monumental timber ring anchors the expo

Spanning over 60,000 square meters and stretching 2 kilometers in circumference, the Grand Ring is now the largest timber structure in the world. It rises between 12 and 22 meters in height and is made from a combination of local Japanese sugi cedar, hinoki cypress, and Scots pine glulam, joined using traditional Japanese nuki joinery techniques. Built in collaboration with Tohata Architects & Engineers and Azusa Sekkei, the project exemplifies expressions of heritage craftsmanship merged with contemporary structural engineering, designed to resist earthquakes while maintaining a delicate and open character for its life during the Expo and beyond.

Fujimoto has described the ring as ‘a symbol of our times,’ shaping it as a circular space that promotes collective experience alongside ecological sensitivity. The structure shelters visitors from sun and rain below, while a continuous elevated deck above provides panoramic views of the Expo site and Osaka Bay.

William Mulvihill captures the pavilions of Expo 2025 Osaka

Sou Fujimoto’s Grand Ring becomes the protagonist of the series

the structure serves as the Expo’s circulatory core and forms a new landmark on the island

highlighting scale, construction, lightness, atmosphere, and material elegance

the Grand Ring is now the largest timber structure in the world

joined using traditional Japanese nuki joinery techniques

Fujimoto has described the ring as ‘a symbol of our times’

the project exemplifies expressions of heritage craftsmanship merged with contemporary structural engineering

atop it’s an expansive wooden canopy that doubles as a skywalk

the continuous elevated deck above provides panoramic views of the Expo site

designed to resist earthquakes

a circular space that promotes collective experience alongside ecological sensitivity

the series documents the monumental structure’s vast footprint

project info:

name: Grand Ring

architect: Sou Fujimoto | @sou_fujimoto

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Interactive sculptures, wearable statements, and color-shifting creatures take center stage across Osaka‘s urban landscape. As part of Osaka Art & Design 2025, running until June 24, artists and creatives from Japan and abroad present an exciting variety of exhibitions, installations, and site-specific works throughout the city. During our visit, designboom explored various locations — from Takuya Kumagai’s playful capsule toy sculptures at W Osaka to Sayaka Miyata and Midori Hirota’s embroidered world of wonder in the Umeda Twin Towers concourse. Scroll down to discover the projects that caught our attention.

Osaka Art & Design highlights in 2025 | all images courtesy of Osaka Art & Design

A SCULPTURE YOU CAN PLAY WITH LIKE A GACHA-GACHA TOY

For his installation at the W Osaka hotel, Takuya Kumagai reimagines Japan’s iconic capsule toy machines as 3D-printed sculptures in the form of ‘Play Sculpture (Gacha Gacha machine: Type-Atlas).’ Guests can interact with the work just like they would with a real gacha machine — turning the dial, receiving a capsule, and discovering the miniature world inside. This sculptural playful experience introduces a layer of surprise to the design hotel lobby while referencing postwar artist Isamu Noguchi’s concept of forms made for both play and contemplation.

Takuya Kumagai – Play Sculpture (Gacha Gacha Machine:Type-Atlas)

AN EMBROIDERED MUSEUM OF BOTANICAL WONDER AND IMAGINATION

In a collaborative public installation across the windows of the Hankyu Umeda Main Store, Sayaka Miyata and Midori Hirota unveil ‘The New Museum of Wonder: The Gene of Curiosity.’ Influenced by the fantastical illustrations of Ernst Haeckel, the artists construct imaginary organisms that evolve through the fusion of embroidery and AI. As if stepping into a natural history museum of the future, viewers encounter textile specimens that radiate color, texture, and tactile curiosity.

Sayaka Miyata / Midori Hirota – The New Museum Of Wonder: The Gene Of Curiosity

WEARABLE STORIES OF WOMANHOOD ROOTED IN TRADITION

Inside Daimaru Shinsaibashi, Polish artist and designer Joanna Hawrot presents her latest collection ‘Unseen Threads,’ a cross-cultural collaboration merging Poland’s textile traditions with the form and symbolism of the Japanese kimono. With designs developed in partnership with Polish artists and portrayed through intimate photographs by Zuza Krajewska, the garments become visual poems, each one exploring female identity through fabric, drape, and gesture. In the Osaka context, these wearable artworks, exhibited at Daimaru Shinsaibashi, serve as quiet yet powerful cross-border dialogue.

Joanna Hawrot – Hawrot: Wearable Art – Unseen Threads

POPS OF YOKAI JOY HIDDEN ACROSS THE CITY

Humorous, otherworldly, and rooted in Japanese folklore, Maki Takato’s ‘YOKAI UNITY’ brings a cast of modern, 3d-scanned yokai creatures into the streets and shopfronts of Osaka. Often seen in the corners of buildings or glowing from inside old houses, Takato’s yokai are updated with contemporary expressions and textures, becoming vibrant symbols of life and memory. The installations suggest a new kind of landscape, one where the spirit world and daily routine coexist, reshaped by joy, absurdity, and the artist’s playful approach to traditional mythology.

Maki Takato – Yokai Unity at Nankai Namba Station

EMERGING ART ENERGY FROM KYOTO TO OSAKA

CAPS (Contemporary Art Practice | Studio) presents a sweeping group exhibition featuring faculty members, graduates, and current students from the Graduate School of Arts at Kyoto University of the Arts. Spanning video, painting, craft, sculpture, and conceptual installation, the works are displayed throughout various locations from the 1st to the 6th floors, as well as the exhibition hall on the 7th floor of Takashimaya Osaka. Curated by the artist-run space Yamanaka Suplex, the show brings together a broad range of artistic voices and fresh ideas, highlighting the next generation of Japanese contemporary art.

Caps: Contemporary Art Practice | Studio

A RAINBOW-COLORED BIRD LANDS AT OSAKA STATION

Created by YAR and artist Kota Nakazono, ‘WATARIDORI’ is a luminous migratory bird glowing with rainbow hues, installed under the vaulted ceiling of Osaka Station’s atrium. Made from dichroic film and responsive lighting, the suspended sculpture shifts color as people move around it, referencing the birds’ ability to navigate by geomagnetism and starlight. It’s both a visual beacon and an emotional anchor, connecting natural phenomena with a sense of festivity and global motion.

YAR and Kota Nakazono – Wataridori

PAINTINGS WHERE ARCHITECTURE BECOMES EMOTION

For his first major solo exhibition in the Kansai region, painter Shotaro Sanada presents ‘New Landscape’ at the Hankyu Department Store Umeda Main Store. His works explore the vertical gravitas of nature and architecture, blending the flow of time with imagined forms that stretch between reality and fiction. Each painting becomes both a wall and a window, evoking cityscapes that feel both intimate and monumental.

Shotaro Sanada – Next Landscape

HYPERREAL FOOD SAMPLES THAT LOOK GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT

At the Kintetsu Department Store Main Store Abeno Harukas, Iwasaki Co., Ltd. – a pioneer of Japanese food sample production since 1932 – presents the ‘New Food Sample Exhibition,’ showcasing a playful mix of hyper-realistic and imaginative replicas crafted by the company’s skilled technicians. Alongside a popularity vote and hands-on workshops, the exhibition also features past works and a photo corner designed for social media delight. More than novelty, it highlights a uniquely Japanese craft where visual storytelling and culinary culture intersect.

Iwasaki Co., Ltd. – New Food Sample Exhibition

CHAIRS, TABLES, AND TOOLS SHAPED BY TIME AND REPAIR

At Maruni Osaka, ‘Manufacture: Allure of Tradition’ offers a fresh perspective on Maruni Wood Industry’s craftsmanship and legacy. Drawing from over 90 years of history, the exhibition presents the company’s approach to detailed construction, repair, and the use of recycled materials. By revisiting its archives and reinterpreting tradition, Maruni explores how high-quality furniture can stir the senses and speak to the heart, reconstructing heritage through a contemporary lens.

Maruni Wood Industry Inc. – Manufacture: Allure Of Tradition

CARTOON LOGIC MEETS CONTEMPORARY ART

At Laugh & Peace Art Gallery, alan’s solo exhibition ‘Re:Re:’ brings together works from his signature series ‘[Under 50% + Point]’ and a new body of abstract compositions. Known for layering elements from mass culture – such as existing artworks, logos, and characters – onto a single canvas, alan playfully challenges notions of originality. His latest pieces shift the focus toward color distribution and form, inviting viewers into a vibrant world where pop culture fragments into rhythm, hue, and reinterpretation.

alan – Re:Re:

project info: 

name: Osaka Art & Design 2025:  Overlaps —Where Passions Encounter
areas: Umeda, Dojima, Nakanoshima, Kyomachibori, Honmachi, Shinsaibashi, Namba, Abeno,  and other areas in Osaka
dates: May 28 – June 24, 2025

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Within the Forest of Tranquility at Expo 2025 Osaka, SANAA’s Better Co-being Pavilion appears as a delicate field of white columns and overlapping roof plates that hover just above the landscape. Designed by the Japanese Pritzker Prize–winning duo Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, the pavilion is composed of slender steel supports topped by a constellation of thin, translucent canopies, some circular, others irregular, recalling clouds or tree branches.

The columns are positioned in a seemingly organic arrangement, creating soft porous pathways, gathering points, and transitional moments within the wooded clearing. This unenclosed architecture, defined by natural rhythms, porosity, and light, echoes its organic context. New photographs by William Mulvihill document its early stages of assembly, capturing how SANAA’s architectural language of lightness and ambiguity is resolved through precise material detailing and structural calibration.

all images by William Mulvihill unless stated otherwise

sanaa’s expo osaka pavilion appears as a field of white canopies

Curated by art critic and curator Yuko Hasegawa, and produced by Hiroaki Miyata, a professor and lead researcher for the thematic project Resonance of Lives, the pavilion is one of several projects at Expo 2025 Osaka exploring how architecture can facilitate new forms of coexistence. Miyata’s framework centers around the idea that we are entering a global turning point, spanning economics, health, education, human rights, and environmental practice. SANAA conceives this to act like a social interface in this context, a place where people can gather, interact, and imagine alternative models for living together.

This ethos is embedded in the physical language of the project. Better Co-being embraces the idea of ambiguity and openness. The architects have selected materials that are almost diagrammatic in their simplicity — from lightweight steel columns to translucent roof panels — somewhat recalling data networks or cellular structures. Without any harsh boundaries, the pavilion then allows the landscape to almost entirely flow through it. Light filters down through the layered roof elements in constantly shifting patterns, changing with the weather and time of day. Photographed during construction, William Mulvihill’s photo series emphasizes this transitional quality, framing the pavilion from different perspectives as it appears mid-formation with geometries only partly resolved.

SANAA’s Better Co-being Pavilion

on view at Expo 2025 Osaka’s Forest of Tranquility

appearing as a delicate field of white columns and overlapping roof plates that hover just above the landscape

William Mulvihill captures the structure under construction

the organic arrangement creates soft porous pathways, gathering points, and transitional moments

the series captures how SANAA’s language of lightness is resolved through precise material detailing

without any harsh boundaries, the pavilion then allows the landscape to almost entirely flow through it

image © designboom

image © designboom

project info: 

name: Better Co-being

architect: SANAA | @sanaa_jimusho

photographer: William Mulvihill | @williamulvihill

location: Osaka, Japan

event: Expo 2025 Osaka | @expo2025japan

dates: April 13th — October 13th, 2025

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Photographer William Mulvihill takes us around Japan’s Expo 2025 Osaka, capturing a cross-section of some of the most striking pavilions. These national identities take architectural form in varied ways, from expressive timber structures and modular wooden grids to immersive spatial choreographies and recycled rope facades — each responding to the Expo’s overarching theme: Designing Future Society for Our Lives.

Several nations revisit maritime heritage, like Bahrain’s dhow-like timber structure, Portugal’s suspended rope facade, while the UAE turns to the idea of reusing agricultural waste together with Japanese joinery. Others lean into circularity and adaptability, such as the Nordic Pavilion, designed for full disassembly, and Uzbekistan’s pavilion, which will be rebuilt back home after the Expo. Meanwhile France, Italy, and Saudi Arabia explore multi-sensory experiences that blend nature and technology. Explore the series below, and learn more about the Expo through designboom’s guide. 

all images by William Mulvihill

oceans and the sun inspire spanish and belgian pavilions

The Spanish Pavilion by Enorme Studio, Smart and Green Design, and Néstor Montenegro Mateos draws on the shared presence of the ocean and the sun, linking the geographies of Spain and Japan through the Kuroshio Current This powerful, invisible ocean stream that has long connected the two nations becomes the focal point of the concept, which William Mulvihill captures from various vantage points. As the building’s architecture is shaped by these twin forces, it reflects a way of life rooted in marine navigation, solar rhythms, and cultural exchange. The exhibition narrative, centered on this east–west oceanic thread, presents the current as a medium of connection and continuity.

Water is also the central metaphor in the Belgium Pavilion by Carré 7, Beyond Limits, One Designs, Pirnay, and Poly-Tech. It organizes its structure across three levels representing the states of water: solid, liquid, and gas, and each layer corresponds to a different phase, using material expression and spatial design to evoke the properties of transformation and flow. Inside, the exhibition showcases innovations in life sciences and health care, with a focus on human-centered technologies.

Spanish Pavilion

serbia and monaco contemplate ideas of transformation

The Serbia Pavilion, titled Floating Forest, is inspired by a unique natural formation in Belgrade where a wooded island meets the city at the confluence of two major rivers. The design forms a spatial metaphor for balance between nature and urbanity, heritage and innovation. Its theme, Society of Play, weaves together scientific achievement, cultural production, and creative freedom. As a preview of Expo 2027 Belgrade, the pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka positions Serbia as a host-in-waiting as well as an architectural manifestation of curiosity and care.

Under the theme Take Care of Wonder, the Monaco Pavilion, invites visitors into a multisensory exploration of environmental awareness. The design fosters a contemplative relationship with the natural world, and outdoor and indoor spaces are organized to elicit a sense of fragile beauty and ecological interdependence, encouraging visitors to reconsider the ties between self and planet. Alongside the exhibitions, a wine bar presents an experience of hospitality, offering wines and cognacs from the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo’s renowned cellar. In this balance of spectacle and intimacy, the pavilion reflects Monaco’s broader message that care for the planet begins with the cultivation of wonder.

the architecture reflects a way of life rooted in marine navigation, solar rhythms, and cultural exchange

uae and bahrain explore material and cultural heritage

William Mulvihill captures how a few of the Gulf nations at Expo 2025 Osaka interpret sustainability through material heritage and cross-cultural exchange. UAE draws from Emirati building traditions while integrating Japanese wooden construction techniques. Designed with elements such as palm gravel — an agricultural byproduct — the pavilion reflects a commitment to low-impact materials and echoes a broader ambition to reconcile past practices with future challenges. Its layered approach emphasizes continuity with the landscape and offers a reinterpretation of traditional methods for a contemporary, climate-conscious context.

Designed by Lina Ghotmeh, the Bahrain Pavilion roots its concept in material and heritage. A timber structure reminiscent of traditional dhow boats faces the sea, symbolizing the island nation’s history as a maritime crossroads in the Gulf. Clad in aluminum and shaped using boat-building techniques, the structure draws from both local traditions and Japanese woodcraft. While passive cooling strategies address the Expo’s environmental demands, the design also marks a cultural convergence, positioning craft, sustainability, and diplomacy as interconnected concerns. Nearby, Saudi Arabia’s pavilion by Foster + Partners offers a more urban response, weaving native materials and computational design to evoke a sensory landscape of the Kingdom, reinforcing how regional architecture is increasingly aligned with climate performance and cultural storytelling.

Lina Ghotmeh’s Bahrain Pavilion

uzbekistan and nordic countries rethink wooden construction 

The Nordic and Uzbekistan pavilions take Expo 2025 Osaka as an opportunity to foreground circularity and reusability in architecture with their intricate wooden structures. Designed by AMDL Circle, the Nordic Pavilion brings together Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden under a single structure made from forest-managed wood. Treated with natural oils and pigments, the dark-hued exterior draws from traditional preservation techniques, while the modular system allows for full disassembly and reuse after the event. Inside, an open-plan layout hosts exhibitions on regional sustainability innovations, while an outdoor terrace encourages informal exchange and rest.

The Uzbekistan Pavilion, designed by ATELIER BRÜCKNER and NUSSLI, adopts somewhat similar modular logic, built from a kit of prefabricated wooden elements, the pavilion is designed to be relocated after the Expo and reassembled in Uzbekistan as a workshop, school, or cultural space. William Mulvihill winds through its intricate spatial layout that unfolds through a garden, a forest of slender wooden columns, and a central sculpture, with each element symbolizing aspects of the country’s natural and creative identity. 

a timber structure reminiscent of traditional dhow boats faces the sea

conceptual storytelling define italy and portugal’s pavilions

Both Italy and Portugal use architectural storytelling to frame questions of social connection, shared history, and environmental futures. Mario Cucinella Architects’ Italian Pavilion reinterprets the Renaissance ideal of the Città Ideale as a flexible, civic environment. The structure reveals a collection of public spaces such as a piazza, teatro, and giardino, with each inviting interaction, gathering, and cultural programming. Rooted in traditions of Italian urbanism, the design prioritizes modularity and openness, with adaptable spaces that also host the Holy See, creating a hybrid venue for art exhibitions, performances, and dialogue.

Kengo Kuma’s Portugal Pavilion takes a lighter, more elemental, yet sculptural approach. William Mulvihill captures the facade’s intricate suspended ropes and recycled fishing nets that recall ocean waves and nod to the country’s maritime legacy. Under the theme Ocean: The Blue Dialogue, the pavilion houses two exhibitions: one tracing Portugal’s longstanding maritime connection with Japan, and another envisioning a sustainable future through digital storytelling and immersive environments. The structure’s materials and assembly foreground a circular economy mindset, while its symbolic language reflects a deep engagement with climate, ecology, and shared stewardship of the sea. The France Pavilion by Coldefy and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati offers a similarly immersive journey, staged as a three-act theatrical encounter with nature, further reinforcing how many of this year’s pavilions use movement and narrative structure to spatialize national values.

Mario Cucinella Architects’ Italian Pavilion reinterprets the Renaissance ideal of the Città Ideale

the structure reveals a collection of public spaces such as a piazza, teatro, and giardino

France Pavilion by Coldefy and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati

staged as a three-act theatrical encounter with nature

exhibits illustrate how design bridges the gap between human and non-human life across the planet

Kengo Kuma’s Portugal Pavilion takes a sculptural approach

William Mulvihill captures the facade’s intricate suspended ropes and recycled fishing nets

the pavilion houses two exhibitions, with one tracing Portugal’s longstanding maritime connection with Japan

Designed by AMDL Circle, the Nordic Pavilion

bringing together Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden

treated with natural oils and pigments, the dark-hued exterior draws from traditional preservation techniques

Mocano Pavilion is staged under the theme Take Care of Wonder

Serbia Pavilion, titled Floating Forest

inspired by a natural formation in Belgrade where a wooded island meets the city at the confluence of two rivers

Saudi Arabia’s pavilion by Foster + Partners offers a more urban response

UAE draws from Emirati building traditions while integrating Japanese wooden construction technique

designed with elements such as palm gravel — an agricultural byproduct

the Uzbekistan Pavilion, designed by ATELIER BRÜCKNER and NUSSLI

built from a kit of prefabricated wooden elements, the pavilion is designed to be relocated after the Expo

water is an important metaphor in the Belgium Pavilion

it unfolds across three levels representing the states of water: solid, liquid, and gas

project info:

name: Expo 2025 Osaka

photographer: William Mulvihill | @williamulvihill

location: Osaka, Japan

The post william mulvihill takes us on a photo journey across expo 2025 osaka’s national pavilions appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Returning for its third edition, Osaka Art & Design transforms the city into an urban-scale showcase of creativity from May 28 to June 24, 2025. Expanding its footprint to around 60 venues, the event connects a rich network of art, design, and architecture across Umeda, Nakanoshima, Shinsaibashi, Namba, and the newly added Abeno district, turning Osaka into a walkable museum of contemporary culture. Visitors can encounter a broad range of artworks, design objects, and fashion pieces, with several works available for purchase across galleries, department stores, and public spaces.

Taking place alongside EXPO 2025 Osaka, OAD 2025  positions the city as a dynamic stage for global cultural dialogue. Under the theme ‘Overlaps —Where Passions Encounter,’ the program unites emerging and established talents from Japan and abroad through large-scale installations, exhibitions, and cross-disciplinary showcases. Highlights include a collaborative installation by Sayaka Miyata and Mirodi Hirota, spanning the north-to-south concourse of Osaka Umeda Twin Towers North and the windows of Hankyu Department Store, as well as a special presentation by fashion designer Joanna Hawrot, organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute of Poland.

Osaka Art & Design 2025 key visual | all images courtesy of Osaka Art & Design

YOKAI UNITY

Blending folklore with playful urban interventions, this installation reimagines yokai — traditional Japanese spirits — through a colorful, pop-inspired lens. Emerging unexpectedly from city gaps, the creatures animate Osaka’s streets with humor and mystery, while a sculptural form based on the Hokkai Jo-in mudra adds a contemplative layer of compassion and coexistence.

exhibition period: May 28 – June 10, 2025

location: Nankai Namba Station 2F Concourse

participating creators: Maki Takato

Yokai Unity by Maki Takato

HAWROT: WEARABLE ART – UNSEEN THREADS

Joanna Hawrot’s Unseen Threads exhibition explores womanhood through wearable art, blending Polish textile traditions with Japanese kimono culture. Presented alongside portraits by photographer Zuza Krajewska, the works spotlight Japanese and Polish women wearing Hawrot’s designs, weaving personal stories into a cross-cultural celebration of identity, diversity, and contemporary femininity.

exhibition period: May 31 – June 24, 2025

location: Daimaru Shinsaibashi

participating creators: Joanna Hawrot

HAWROT: Wearable Art – Unseen Threads by Joanna Hawrot | image © Zuza Krajewska

THE NEW MUSEUM OF WONDER: THE GENE OF CURIOSITY

Inspired by Ernst Haeckel’s illustrations and global textile motifs, artist Sayaka Miyata embroiders a poetic fusion of natural science and art. In collaboration with designer Midori Hirota, she unveils a large-scale installation across Osaka Umeda Twin Towers North, merging handcraft and AI to spark curiosity and evoke the atmosphere of a museum of wonder.

exhibition period: May 8 – June 23, 2025

location: Osaka Umeda Twin Towers North 1F Concourse

participating creators: Sayaka Miyata and Midori Hirota

The New Museum of Wonder: The Gene of Curiosity by Sayaka Miyata and Midori Hirota

NEW COLLECTION

Charlotte Perriand designed the Indochine Chaise Longue in 1943 while serving as Director of Crafts in Vietnam. Confined to bed late in her pregnancy, she created a rattan chaise longue with armrests to continue reading, writing, and designing despite wartime steel shortages. Since 2004, Cassina has expanded the Charlotte Perriand collection in close collaboration with Perriand’s daughter, Pernette Perriand-Barsac. To mark the collection’s 20th anniversary in 2024, Cassina will introduce a newly industrialized model, celebrating Perriand’s enduring creative legacy.

exhibition period: May 28 – June 24, 2025

location: Cassina ixc. Osaka shop

participating creators: Cassina

New Collection by Cassina

ONE MILLION PEOPLE’S CANDLE NIGHT

‘One Million People’s Candle Night in Osaka City: Chayamachi Slow Day’ softly illuminates the Umeda district each summer with candlelight art and quiet charm. In 2025, under the theme “Miracle,” installations, candle-lined streets, and artist-made works invite visitors to reflect, connect, and wander through a glowing cityscape. Highlights include the Candle Market, live music at select venues, and a collective lights-off moment from 8 to 10 p.m., offering a peaceful pause from everyday life.

exhibition period: June 5, 2025

location: the entire Chayamachi area, Umeda

One Million People’s Candle Night in Osaka City: Chayamachi Slow Day

SENSE OF WONDER

At Marco Gallery, Joe Takahashi presents a solo exhibition titled Sense of Wonder – Yugen, offering a sculptural exploration of gravity as a timeless, universal force. Centering his practice on themes such as plant life, rotation, horizons, and light, Takahashi creates spatial compositions that subtly distort perception. His works invite contemplation of natural phenomena through abstract forms, drawing viewers into a nuanced interplay between material presence and conceptual depth.

exhibition period: May 31 – June 29, 2025

location: Marco Gallery

participating creators: Joe Takahashi

Sense of Wonder by Joe Takahashi

THE GLITCH

Akira Terada, the first fully digital artist to win the Gallery Seek Award at the 3rd ARTIST NEW GATE, presents a solo exhibition showcasing his distinctive visual language. Without using any physical tools, Terada transforms everyday landscapes by flipping and rotating photographs, creating unexpected, imaginative scenes that challenge conventional perspectives.

exhibition period: June 4 – June 10, 2025

location: Kintetsu Main Store Abeno Harukas

participating creators: Akira Terada

Holographic Divers(c)ity-4 | image © Akira Terada

THE SOUND OF BEGINNING, THE SOUND OF ENDING. – ILLUSTRATED ALPHABET

Inspired by the question, ‘What would letters look like if they started to dance?,’ this work captures a single hiragana character spinning rapidly in 360 degrees. The result is a striking visual that gives motion, depth, and delicate form to a flat symbol, expanding the expressive potential of written language.

exhibition period: June 11 – June 24, 2025

location: Osaka Takashimaya Department Store

participating creators: Katsunari Shishido

The sound of beginning, the sound of ending. – Illustrated alphabet by Katsunari Shishido

project info: 

name: Osaka Art & Design 2025:  Overlaps —Where Passions Encounter
areas: Umeda, Dojima, Nakanoshima, Kyomachibori, Honmachi, Shinsaibashi, Namba, Abeno, and other areas in Osaka
dates: May 28 – June 24, 2025

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