EXPO Osaka 2025 – Pavilion Austria

  • Location

    Horn, Austria und Osaka, Japan

  • Architect

    BWM Designers & Architects

  • Client

    Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Federal Ministry of Labor and Economy

  • Co-Planer

    • Graf Holztechnik, Horn, Austria (wood loop - production and logistics)

  • Typology

    • Special construction

  • Competition

    2022

  • Planning

    2023 - 2024

  • Execution

    2024 - 2025

  • Scopes

    • LPH1 Basic analysis construction planning
    • LPH2 Preliminary draft
    • LPH3 Preliminary structural draft
    • LPH4 Submission planning
    • LPH5 Execution planning
    • LPH6 Collaboration in tender procedures
    • LPH7 Support of the construction work
    • LPH8 Collaboration in the local construction supervison
    • LPH9 Object support-LM.TW

  • Materials

    • Glass
    • Steel & metal

The World Expo 2025 takes place in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to October 13, 2025.

The spiral sculpture on the façade of the Austrian pavilion, which can be seen from afar – an oversized musical band made of a construction of wooden slats screwed together from certified Austrian spruce wood – was shipped directly from Graf Holzbau’s workshops in Horn to Osaka in Japan.

The 91 meter long and 4.3 meter high structure, with a total height of 16 meters, consists of an upper and lower chord and 265 diagonal members. Five steel pylons support the double intertwined form.

The construction of the loop follows the principle of “bolting instead of gluing”, meaning that the individual components of the spiral can be completely dismantled and reassembled elsewhere. This allows the components to be recycled even after Expo 2025.

Highest precision in planning, prefabrication and assembly are essential for this innovative construction method.

Pictures: BWM Designers & Architects and werkraum ingenieure