7 Inspiring Pavilions at the Expo 2025 That Rethinks How We Build
At Expo 2025 Osaka, architecture is more than display — it’s a dialogue with the future, focusing on sustainable designs from around the world.
April 13, 2025, marked the grand opening of Expo 2025 Osaka on the artificial island of Yumeshima, under the visionary theme: “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” With a masterplan designed by Sou Fujimoto—featuring the world’s largest timber structure—this Expo is a showcase for sustainable futures, creative material reuse, and cross-cultural innovation.
Among the constellation of pavilions from around the world, seven stand out for their bold architectural language, cultural storytelling, and commitment to regenerative principles. Each pavilion is not just a structure, but a proposal—a living prototype—inviting visitors to imagine new ways of inhabiting the planet.
Uzbekistan: A Garden Rooted in Culture and Craft
Architects: Atelier Brückner
Theme: The Garden of Knowledge
The Uzbekistan Pavilion’s design is rooted in sustainable architecture, combining natural materials, interactive installations, and contemporary craftsmanship inspired by historic Uzbek landmarks and cultural heritage.
German design firm ATELIER BRÜCKNER created the Garden of Knowledge as a two-storied structure that was inspired by the ancient caravanserais along the silk route. The lower level with a central garden is wrapped in reclaimed bricks and represents the earth and Uzbekistan’s landscape, while on the higher level, a forest of wooden columns is evocative of trees – the metaphorical ‘garden’. The columns are symbolic of traditional Uzbek timber craftsmanship and serve as an architectural tribute to the historic Juma Mosque in Khiva. A central sculpture acts as a connecting element between the roof and the garden, uniting the spaces physically and thematically.
Traditional Uzbeki craftsmanship with a contemporary expression is seen within the structure too. Handcrafted ceramic stools designed by Japan-born, Lebanese Nada Debs in collaboration with Uzbek artisans, provide a seat for contemplation, while more than 11,000 traditional Bukharian tiles in the signature turquoise colour were created by Uzbek ceramicist Abdulvahid Bukhoriy Karimov to adorn the pavilion shop.
Reinforcing the Pavilion’s commitment to sustainability and material transparency, columns are equipped with NFC tags that allow viewers to trace the Japanese origin of the timber used in the Pavilion’s construction. After the expo, the plan is to reuse the wooden elements from the pavilion for constructional purposes in Uzbekistan.
Shirin Frangoul-Brückner, Founding Partner and Managing Director of Atelier Brückner, says that historic forms and materials were re-imagined through contemporary design to create an experience that feels both timeless and forward-looking in this pavilion.
Photo Copyrights: ATELIER BRÜCKNER courtesy of ACDF
Netherlands: Circularity, Innovation, and a New Dawn
Design Consortium: A New Dawn (AND) BV – RAU Architects, Tellart, DGMR, Asanuma
District: Saving Lives
A glowing orb rises from a sea of undulating forms—a metaphor for clean energy and regenerative design. The Dutch Pavilion brings to life its theme of a “new dawn” by turning the visitor experience into an interactive exploration of circularity and energy transition. Miniature orbs, handed out at the entrance, respond to exhibits and highlight the interconnectedness of people, data, and sustainable systems.
Nothing is hidden. Every screw, joint, and panel has been left visible to reinforce the idea of transparency and reusability. After the Expo, the pavilion will be carefully dismantled and stored for reuse elsewhere.
The intent behind the pavilion is best explained by the team – “Today, the world is facing two urgent challenges when it comes to energy transition: scarcity of raw materials and the end of our dependency on fossil fuels. The earth is a closed system, nothing new is added. So we need to be extremely careful with what we have. Circularity is a system that allows us to make limited materials available limitlessly. Next to that, we make use of unlimited energy sources, such as sun and wind energy, as well as energy derived from water. With this transition, we can create a new dawn.”
The pavilion also highlights the importance of a circular system. The highest goal in a circular economy is not to discard or remove an existing object. Keeping in mind that a pavilion is a temporary, this structure was designed such that all components including the main load-bearing members, facade, and all the finishing materials were designed to be dismantled and reassembled, with all joints and screws visible. After Expo, the pavilion will be stored in shipping containers before being relocated to a new site and given a new purpose.
The structure confronts global crises—raw material scarcity and fossil fuel dependency—offering instead a future where sun, wind, and water become the cornerstone of energy.
Photo Copyrights: AND BV & Plomp
Bahrain: Sailing into Sustainability
Architect: Lina Ghotmeh
Theme: Connecting Seas
Lebanese-French architect Lina Ghotmeh designed the national pavilion for The Kingdom of Bahrain to highlight Bahrain’s maritime, logistical, and natural resources. Fittingly, the structure faces the sea and is located in the Expo’s ‘Empowering Lives’ area.
Named Connecting Seas, the 17-metre-tall pavilion with a curved roof that dips in the centre, draws on Bahrain’s coastal heritage and is inspired by the traditional dhow boats that used the ply the shores. The pavilion’s structure reinterprets heritage boat-building techniques which typically feature a wooden structure with an outer aluminum layer. Here, a framework of Japanese cedar is used in a reference to the wooden rafters of a dhow while paying homage to Japanese wood artistry and the bilateral ties between the two nations. The front façade of the pavilion is wrapped in a translucent membrane about which Ghotmeh says, “These materials give the structure a soft, sail-like appearance, evoking the fabric of a traditional dhow and gently filtering daylight into the space. The choice of membrane not only enhances the pavilion’s lightness and permeability but also supports passive climate control.”
To one side of the central atrium is a café, and a gift shop to the other. A wide central staircase takes visitors to the higher exhibition floors and the business area at the top level. Designed for easy disassembly and recycling after the Expo, the pavilion also incorporates ancient cooling techniques to reduce reliance on mechanical cooling methods and lowering environmental impact, making it a model of circular, low-impact architecture.
Rising by the waterfront, Bahrain’s pavilion is a poetic structure shaped like a sail—rooted in dhow boat traditions, yet firmly anchored in modern sustainability. Constructed from Japanese cedar and sheathed in a translucent membrane, the building captures light like canvas and air like a lung.
The internal layout is simple and elegant: a central atrium leads to a staircase, flanked by a café and a gift shop. But it’s the climate-smart detailing that truly distinguishes this pavilion. Passive cooling, traditional ventilation techniques, and lightweight construction allow for minimal environmental impact and easy disassembly post-Expo.
It’s a graceful meeting of heritage and forward-thinking architecture, honouring both Bahrain’s maritime roots and its global ambitions.
Switzerland: Inflatable Architecture Meets Botanical Dreams
Architect: Manuel Herz Architects
District: Empowering Life
Appearing like a cluster of playful bubbles, the Swiss Pavilion is anything but frivolous. Designed using ETFE foil (a Teflon-like material), the inflatable spheres are as light as air—literally. The pavilion weighs just 400 kg, about 1% the weight of a conventional building envelope.
Located in the “Empowering Life” zone of the Expo, the Swiss Pavilion designed by Basel-based Manuel Herz Architects looks like giant balls carelessly piled up. Conceptualised by the designers as a cluster of plastic-based spheres engulfed by plants, the design is representative of a building that interweaves nature and the man-made world, creating a futuristic world that integrates these two seemingly disparate realities.
The spherical architecture of the pavilion was a result of wanting to minimise the carbon footprint while creating a dreamy, airy setting perfect for exploring futuristic visions. The pavilion is a pneumatic construction in which the building is designed as a double-chamber foil made of ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene). This Teflon-like polymeric plastic functions as a hollow chamber which is supported by the steel structure, allowing pneumatic pressure to be generated only within the building.
Light plays an important role in the staging of exhibits. The inner and outer skin of the envelope can be colored differently, so that the interiors of the sphere can be darkened despite looking bright on the outside. Swiss innovations are offered to-go in the shop and in the innovative roof-top bar located in the highest sphere of the pavilion offering a panoramic view of the bay of Osaka. With this lightweight ETFE membrane comprising the exterior shell, the structure weighs no more than 400kg – just 1% of a conventional building shell – making the Swiss pavilion the lightest building at the Expo.
Planters with plants from local nurseries are mounted atop the steel frame, so that eventually the plants will completely envelope the spheres bringing the architect’s vision to reality. Every kilogram of plant weight corresponds to one kilogram of CO2 removed from the atmosphere, so in essence, the longer the pavilion stands, the lower its carbon footprint. Eventually, the foil and the rest of the pavilion will be recycled and repurposed as furniture and other items after the completion of the Expo.
Photo credits: © FDFA, Presence Switzerland
Saudi Arabia: Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow
Architects: Foster + Partners
Narrative Approach: Urban Journey
The Saudi Pavilion presents a masterclass in placemaking. The Saudi Arabia Pavilion by Foster + Partners captures the essence of the nation’s heritage with a narrative journey through the winding alleyways and shaded courtyards of traditional Saudi towns and villages. Its design blends deep-rooted history with remarkable progress thought the use of low-carbon materials, energy-saving lighting, rainwater recycling and photovoltaic technologies to generate electricity.
The pavilion transitions from a forecourt of the nation’s native flora into a layered urban scene, with the Saudi Courtyard at the centre of the design. Through the day, the courtyard offers moments of quiet reflection and serenity before transforming into a vibrant venue for events and performances in the evening. The pavilion is at once about spatial storytelling and placemaking — guiding visitors through a space that blurs the line between exhibition and lived environment, acting as a functioning space, animated by the sounds, smells, and textures of Saudi Arabia’s cities. The experience deepens as visitors enter a network of meandering streets, each revealing curated spaces that offer a window into the everyday life of Saudi Arabia via immersive, multimedia installations. Senior Executive Partner and Head of Studio Luke Fox says, “The project is a celebration of Saudi Arabian culture, evoking the wonderful streetscapes and captivating natural landscapes that define the Kingdom.”
The undulating, porous massing of the pavilion uses computational fluid dynamics to passively regulate airflow; the geometric forms are inspired by the organic shapes of Saudi Arabia’s ancient settlements but adapted for the Osaka climate, allowing cool westerly breezes during peak summer months, while the forecourt acts as a wind barrier during the winter. The Pavilion targets net-zero operational carbon and the Foster + Partners team emphasize its long-term adaptability. Clad in lightweight Saudi stone, the structure is designed for efficient deconstruction, reassembly, or complete reconfiguration to meet various requirements in future locations.
More than a building, this is an urban fragment—a layered environment that transforms from reflective space by day to cultural stage by night.
Photo credits: Foster + Partners
France: A Choreographed Experience of Architecture
Architects: Coldefy & CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati
Concept: Theatre of Life
Designed by French architecture studio Coldefy with Italian design and innovation practice CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, the France Pavilion is envisioned as a ‘theatre of life’, where architecture frames moments of presence, movement and interaction. Inspired by a mise-en-scène, or stage design and arrangement, the Pavilion is a fluid sequence of spaces, guiding visitors through changing perspectives that mirror the rhythms of daily life – the beginning, transition, pause and departure.
Its shifting façade, with 17-metre high fabric veils resembling theatre curtains suspended down two sides, opens up to the ‘stage’ – a sculptural copper clad stairway that ascends towards the exhibition area inside, inviting visitors to participate in this journey. The pathway winds between the enclosed and open-air spaces of the pavilion like a sensuous copper band, blurring the boundaries between the inside and outside. It concludes in the wider Expo site where it doubles up as a viewing platform; overhead, a ceiling of transparent tubes acts as a cloud and filters out harsh sunlight for visitors gathered there.
The Pavilion integrates as many prefabricated and temporary components as possible to facilitate future disassembly – for example, container structures are used for the office spaces. These design choices ensure reduced environmental impact, ease of reconfiguration, and adaptability beyond the Expo. Rather than being a static monument, the Pavilion is an adaptive structure, reflecting the evolving nature of architecture and exhibition spaces in response to contemporary challenges.
Says Thomas Coldefy of the French studio, “Both actors and spectators in this production, visitors traverse a path through the pavilion that is an expression of the symbiosis between humanity and its environment. Above all, the design seeks to create a welcoming space that is open and accessible to all,” echoing the broader theme of Expo 2025 Osaka: Designing Future Society for Our Lives.
Photo credits: Julien Lano
Qatar: Maritime Influenced Theme
Concept: From the Coastline, We Progress
Architect: Kengo Kuma & Associates
Theme: Reflects Qatar’s maritime heritage and future-oriented development, bridging tradition and innovation.
Inspired by the wooden dhow boats of Qatar and traditional Japanese wood joinery, the Qatari Pavillion uses sustainable materials to emphasise shared cultural and environmental values between Qatar and Japan and is curated in collaboration with Qatar Museums to offer a narrative-rich architectural experience.
The pavilion narrates Qatar’s transformation from a coastal economy to a global hub driven by sustainable innovation. It embodies the values of the Qatar National Vision 2030 and presents investment opportunities under the Third Qatar National Development Strategy (2024–2030).
The Expo of Hope
Expo 2025 Osaka isn’t just a showcase of national identities—it’s a laboratory of hope. These seven pavilions redefine what architecture can be when guided by values of circularity, climate responsibility, and cultural continuity.
Each one offers more than spectacle. They offer lessons, prototypes, and possibilities for a world that urgently needs to design not just for now, but for life.
