[+] Past, Present, Future: Why World Expo Architecture Matters

At last count, there were more than 16.1 million buildings across Australia along about 2.3 million kilometres of roads. But around $60 million from the public coffers is about to be splurged to construct another building that none of these roads lead to. In fact, it will not even be in this wide brown land. Nevertheless, for six months it will attract an estimated five million or so visitors, sharing the title of Australia’s most visited building with the Sydney Opera House that each year draws a tad more than 10 million. The Australian Pavilion for Osaka’s World Expo 2025 will be a striking antipodean oasis among Japan’s cherry blossom trees—albeit with a few token eucalypts. But while its existence will be fleeting compared to the closer-to-home cultural icon this year celebrating its 50th birthday, the importance of Expo as an enabler and showcase for cutting-edge built form cannot be underestimated. The pavilion designs invariably provide a glimpse of the possibilities and path ahead for shaping our cities and urban environments. Delete “It’s where the seeds of future ways of living will be sown, and Expo 2025’s impact will be seen in our cities and urban landscapes across the decade that follows,” says Australian Pavilion lead architect and Buchan senior associate Nataly Ernst. “Expo 2025 is about solving global challenges and will be a place for architects around the world to explore regenerative design, sustainability and innovation in materials and building methodologies. “The emphasis is very much on creating a future that is carbon-positive and energy self-sufficient.” The overarching theme of Expo 2025 is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”. About 150 countries and 25 international organisations will participate in the event, which is to be staged from April to October, 2025 on Yumeshima, a 390ha man-made island in the southern Osaka Bay area. It is expected to attract more than 24 million visitors. Setting the Expo’s design tone, work is under way on what will be one of the world’s largest timber structures—a ring-shaped wooden canopy that will rise five storeys and encircle the exhibition precinct. The gently sloping accessible “grand roof” has been designed by local architect Sou Fujimoto and draws inspiration from traditional Japanese timber craftsmanship that uses no nails. To be constructed from 20,000 cubic metres of wood, it will be 615m in diameter and have a 2km circumference. Not only will it be symbolic but it also will serve as a massive multi-dimensional, 30m-wide passageway and sheltering structure, topped by a 60,000sq m green-filled aerial corridor offering panoramic views of the Expo site and Osaka Bay. Fujimoto describes the aim of the colossal canopy as providing a platform from which people “can see the future positively”. “I designed a large ring-like platform that people can walk on and this will make a link of people and cultures from diverse worlds,” he says. “Here we share one sky above us. “It is a place where people from all over the world will unite their thoughts, respect each other and experience something special together.” The first World Expo—the Great Exhibition—was held in London’s Hyde Park in 1851. It was housed within the Crystal Palace—a glass-and-iron building longer than 11 Olympic swimming pools and twice the height of the landmark Hollywood sign in Los Angeles—that became a symbol of Victorian England and the industrial revolution. Ever since, participating countries have been upping the ante on their pavilion designs for the gathering of nations, which happens every five years as a platform for sharing scientific, technological, economic and social progress with a view to finding solutions to global challenges. ▲ The Australian Pavilion at World Expo 88 in Brisbane, designed by Ken Woolley and featuring Ken Done art. Buchan’s concept design for the Australian Pavilion's 3504sq m allocated plot at Expo 2025 was recently unveiled by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Like renowned architect Ken Woolley’s famed pavilion design—boldly adorned with artist Ken Done’s colourful giant letters spelling Australia—for Brisbane’s 1988 World Expo, it aims to capture the essence of the nation. And although the latest design is somewhat less retina-busting—hey, that was the 1980s, folks—it is no less era-defining and visionary. Thirty-five years on, Australia’s population has grown from 16.5 million to nearly 26.5 million people—creating a national identity of greater substance, sophistication, diversity, creativity and ingenuity. Encapsulating the nation’s ongoing evolution, Buchan's team has conceptualised the Australian Pavilion for Expo 2025 under the theme “Chasing the Sun”. Ernst describes its form as “an abstraction of a eucalyptus gumnut”. “We wanted a fresh, distinctly Australian concept,” she tells The Urban Developer . “Australia is vast and its regions are all different. “In our research phase, we identified that the gum tree is common to all. There are more than 700 species, with a huge variety of forms, textures and colours. The gumtree and its nuts and blossoms provided our inspiration as an expression of diversity, resilience, growth and optimism. ▲ The Australian Pavilion is as “an abstraction of a eucalyptus gumnut”, says lead architect and Buchan senior associate Nataly Ernst. “The gumnut has a protective shell and its colourful blossom bursts from within. Our facade has been conceived as a protective skin with an aperture that provides space for vibrant programming and activity to blossom.” She says the concept also responds to the Expo 2025’s sustainability theme of “Designing Future Society for Our Lives” through the adaptability of the eucalypt to many conditions. “Our design explores the concepts of circular economy, sustainability and our architectural responsibility to society. “We’ll be primarily re-using a modular construction system that can be disassembled and re-used again, and most of the structure will have a second life.” As well as the Australian Pavilion, the covers recently have come off a number of other inspiring and innovative Expo 2025 pavilion designs. London-based studio Foster and Partners has designed the pavilion for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, modeling it after the organic forms of traditional Saudi villages. It also has an emphasis on sustainability and is committed to reaching a net zero operational carbon target using solar technologies for electricity generation, rainwater recycling, low-carbon materials, and energy-efficient lighting. ▲ A render of the Czech Republic Pavilion for World Expo 2025. The design for the Czech Republic Pavilion is the work of Zurich-based Apropos Architects and features an ascending spiral form with a glass exterior paying homage to the country’s long tradition of glassmaking. Spirals also are an integral part of the Poland Pavilion designed by Paris-based Interplay—providing inherent stability on a site exposed to wind and seismic forces. Timber is its chosen eco-friendly primary building material due to its low carbon footprint. Milan-based studio AMDL Circle is behind the Nordic Pavilion, taking a sustainable and circular approach, purposely designing the structure for disassembly and reuse. It is planned to be built entirely of forest-managed wood. China, Italy and Brazil are among the other countries to have revealed innovative, state-of-the-art Expo 2025 pavilion designs. “Expo is a platform for Australia to showcase our design capability and innovation and participate in a global exchange of ideas,” Ernst says. “The event is an opportunity to explore architectural expression free from many of the usual constraints and is an important platform for architectural visioning for the future.” She cites Rotterdam-based MVRDV’s Netherlands Pavilion for the World Expo 2000 as a classic example of design ingenuity that has come from the event. Featuring six artificial landscapes stacked into a tower as a solution to future land needs, it became a lauded sustainable design for creating a building as a self-contained eco-system. ▲ MVRDV’s Netherlands Pavilion for the World Expo 2000. “It had an internal forest of trees and running water—revolutionary at the time—and was a catalyst for what we see in many buildings today in terms of integrating nature, and the way we repurpose and share space,” Ernst says. The pavilion was subsequently converted into a co-working office building with two structures for student housing and parking. Noting the vibrant Australian Pavilion design from Brisbane’s coming-of-age 1988 World Expo as a “bold expression of our growing confidence and our playfulness”, Ernst says: “Looking back across the years we can see how Australia's pavilions reflect the times. “Expo is a place for experimentation and pushing boundaries—architects and designers everywhere will be looking to Expo for inspiration and ideas. “It plays a significant and valuable role in driving innovation and creativity and showcasing it in one location. And our goal with the pavilion is to make an indelible impact, without leaving a trace.” ▲ A render of the Brazilian pavilion planned for Expo 2025. You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

Construction
Phil Bartsch
Fri 24 Nov 23

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