Osaka EXPO 2025
Spanish Pavilion
CLT Structure 3000m2
A.O.R. with Frank La Riviere Architects
Design by EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio,
Smart & Green Design
Under the motto “Kuroshio’s current”, the Pavilion is located on a triangular plot facing the timber ring on one side, and the 'forest of tranquility' on the other, both designed by Sou Fujimoto for the Expo.
Spain has a long history with Japan, a connection formed originally through the ocean, and the dicovery of the Kuroshio, or the Black Current, by Spanish monk and maritime explorer Andrés de Urdaneta in 1565. The current was a literal cultural connector and one of the secrets of Spanish navigation for centuries. Today we recognize the current more for its role in circulating nutrients in the North Pacific Ocean, a key to the health of our oceans and global ecosystems.
The pavilion expresses this connection and meaning with an immersive experience that forwards both sun and sea. Built with mass timber, the building takes the form of a landscape, with visitors entering at the second floor over Spanish blue tiles created for this pavilion. The design is in dialogue with the site and the view outwards is as important as the media experience inside.
The building itself is made accroding to the goals of a circular economy, meaning the timber frame can be deconstructed and rebuilt elsewhere, or its parts otherwise re-used.
「黒潮の流れ」をモットーに掲げたこのパビリオンは、3,500平方メートルの敷地に位置しています。本プロジェクトのコンセプトは、何世紀にもわたりスペインの航海術の大きな秘密のひとつであった黒潮に由来しており、この海流は私たちの大陸間に文化的・商業的な豊かさの流れを築いてきましたtext
full credits:
Client: Acción Cultural Española
AC/E Design: EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio, and Smart & Green Design.
Architects: Néstor Montenegro, Rocío Pina, Carmelo Rodríguez, and Fernando Muñoz. Architecture team: Víctor Criado, Alba Fernández, Lucía García, Diego García, Alba Gómez, Aureliana Rizzo, Alexis Rodríguez, Paula Rodríguez, Marion Roth, and Eva Stamatiou.
Contents and curatorship: Miguel Ángel Delgado, Eva Villaver, Blanca de la Torre, and Cristina Arribas.
Creative audiovisual direction: Cynthia González.
Audiovisual coordination: Marta Pita, and Víctor Cid.
Exhibition and graphic design: Amaya Lausín, John López, and Inés Vila.
Waste management: Cocircular.
Local Architects: frontoffice tokyo: Koen Klinkers (Design Management), Will Galloway (BIM management) Frank la Rivière Architects inc: Frank la Rivière (Architect of Record) + Tomuro Taichi Architectural Design Office Co., Ltd.: Tomuro Taichi
Structural Engineer: Kusumoto Haruhide Structural Engineering office (Engineer of Record) Kusumoto Haruhide楠本玄英,
MEP Design: PT Morimura Sekkei: Sodekawa Masanori 袖川政憲, Totsuka Kunio戸塚邦雄
CASBEE consultant: Center for Environment and Energy Conservation
Detailed Design & Site Supervision: Han Sekkei: Tamura, Koida, Inubushi
Project Management: Beyond Limits Ltd
Pavilion Construction: Murakami Koumuten
Exhibition Construction: BGL
Photography: Arch-Exist
