Wood showcased at Osaka 2025 Expo
Osaka World Expo 2025 is set to be a landmark global event focusing on showcasing sustainable solutions. Several pavilions and public spaces will incorporate PEFC-certified timber.
Wood showcased at Osaka 2025 Expo
28 March 2025 Sustainable construction
Osaka World Expo 2025 will take place later this year from 13 April to 13 October 2025, on the man-made island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay, and is set to be a landmark global event focusing on showcasing sustainable solutions and fostering international collaboration across the built environment and innovative technology.
Under the theme ‘Designing Future Society for Our Lives’ the Expo will highlight “humanity’s collective aspirations for innovation, equity, and environmental harmony.”
Central to Expo’s ethos is a commitment to sustainability. This will include the extensive use of timber in construction across the event and how the wider use of wood aligns with the principles of the circular economy and the reuse and repurposing of natural resources and waste reduction.
Timber will play a significant role in several of the national pavilions that are designed to promote each country or region and will be housed within an ambitious ‘giant wooden ring’.
The Grand Roof – designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto – and one of the world’s largest wooden structures – comprises 60,000 m2 of timber.
At 20m high, with a 2km circumference, and an 8m walkway, it is the centrepiece of the ‘dream island’ where visitors can walk around and look down on the main event.
Several pavilions and public spaces will incorporate PEFC-certified timber, and to underline its importance as a recyclable construction material, the structures have been designed to be easily disassembled so that the wood can be reused.
As a natural and renewable resource, timber in construction not only acts as a valuable carbon sink, but when responsibly sourced, also helps protect biodiversity, promote healthy forestry and secure millions of global livelihoods.
Work is now almost complete on several of the pavilions including those from Austria, Czech Republic, Australia, the USA, and Italy, which are all using PEFC-certified timber.
We will be featuring each of these pavilions during the course of the Expo. Expectations are high and with over 28 million visitors expected, Osaka Expo 2025 promises to celebrate cultural diversity but also to act as a showcase for timber and innovative building solutions to meet demanding global net zero commitments.