In 2018, the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) announced that the Japanese city of Osaka won the bid to host the 2025 World Expo, an event expected to draw millions of visitors. The event will open on April 13, 2025, and close on October 13, 2025. This will be Japan’s second time hosting the event, as another World Expo was held in Osaka in 1970. The official theme for this edition is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” Architect Sou Fujimoto has been chosen as the Expo Site Design Producer of the event, becoming responsible for designing the master plan and directing the designers of the participating countries. As of March 24, 2023, 153 countries and regions and 8 international organizations have officially confirmed their participation in Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.
During a press conference in December 2020, Sou Fujimoto presented the Master Plan, an outline of the necessary operational policies and plans for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. The site design features a circular main line of flow encircling the national pavilions. The master plan acts as a framework for implementing the vision of the national pavilions. According to Sou Fujimoto, young designers and architects will have the opportunity to receive commissions for small-scale buildings across the site, in an effort to drive innovation and experimentation.
The architect is also considering the event’s impact on the city of Osaka. In an interview for VietReder, Sou Fujimoto links the development of the exhibition site with efforts to reintroduce greenery in the densely-developed city. According to the master plan brief, the exhibition aims to develop in accordance with UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals in order to contribute to imagining a more sustainable natural and human world. The World Expo invites people with diverse background from around the world to come together and to explore the “theme of life.”
I hope the pavilions would be an experimental field for new ways of using and creating wood, natural and recycled materials. I am also looking forward to seeing the synergy of architectural and digital spaces interacting. Many new technologies will be introduced in construction as well. I think it will be an opportunity for process innovation. - Sou Fujimoto, Expo Site Design Producer
World Expos, held every five years, represent an opportunity for the hosting counties to showcase their culture, traditions, and innovations and attract international visitors and attention. The event dates back to the 19th century when it was a significant opportunity for countries to showcase their architectural and technological innovations. Throughout history, each new Expo offered architects an opportunity to present radical ideas and use these events as a creative laboratory for testing bold innovations in design and building technology. Recent previous editions were hosted in Milan, Italy, in 2015, and in Dubai, UAE, in 2020.
