Osaka Expo 2025 Foresting Architecture Pavilion by Takenaka Corporation

The Foresting Architecture Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka embodies a vision of regenerative, participatory architecture. Designed as a rest shelter, the project challenges conventional temporary architecture by prioritizing sustainability, community involvement, and natural cycles. Instead of producing waste after the six-month Expo, the pavilion is conceived to return to the soil, becoming part of a forest ecosystem in Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, after the event concludes.

Design Philosophy

The pavilion draws inspiration from animal nests and traditional Japanese architecture, emphasizing a sense of attachment, participation, and care. Visitors and participants are invited to engage directly in the building process, fostering a collective relationship with architecture and encouraging awareness of environmental responsibility. By integrating cutting-edge technology with natural processes, the design creates a structure that transforms a former landfill site, Yumeshima, into a forest, symbolizing regeneration and coexistence with nature.

Materials and Construction

The pavilion is built entirely from natural and biodegradable materials. Its main structural component is cellulose acetate, a wood-derived, biodegradable material commonly used in eyeglass frames and medicine capsules. Using continuous 3D printing on-site, the team produced a truss-like structure with a diameter of 4.65 meters and height of 2.95 meters, setting a Guinness World Record™ for the largest biodegradable 3D-printed architecture. The truss design evokes the sensation of being inside plant stems or fruits, creating an immersive spatial experience.

The finishing layer consists of handmade paper embedded with seeds, produced collaboratively through public workshops, welfare facilities, and traditional washi artisans. These papers were attached to the structure using a cellulose-based adhesive, enabling the plants to germinate and grow directly from the pavilion. The choice of seeds from the Kawanishi forest ensures the pavilion will eventually return to the land as living forest, seamlessly connecting architecture, community, and ecology.

Spatial and Experiential Design

Inside, filtered sunlight penetrates the translucent cellulose acetate panels, casting soft shadows and creating a comfortable, nature-connected interior. The truss-like cross-sections form a network of light, airy spaces reminiscent of plant structures, while the exterior surface evolves throughout the seasons as seeds sprout and bloom. The pavilion encourages reflection on the relationship between humans, architecture, and the natural environment, offering an educational and sensory experience for visitors.

Community and Legacy

Foresting Architecture emphasizes participation and co-creation. Beyond its technological innovation, the project involves the public in every stage of its construction, from printing to applying seed-embedded papers. Though small in scale, the pavilion represents a paradigm shift in temporary architecture, prioritizing legacy over spectacle. After the Expo, the structure will be relocated to a forest site where it will continue its transformation, leaving behind a living, breathing piece of architecture that enriches the environment.

“Foresting Architecture encourages us to reconsider the relationship between people, nature, and architecture, creating a building that eventually disappears into the earth as part of a forest.” – Takenaka Corporation

Photography: Takenaka Corporation