Project description

Designed for Expo 2025, the project is a self-balancing structural system in which a slender steel ring and a tensile membrane roof stabilise each other. Delivered through close collaboration between engineers, architects, and specialist contractors, the design demonstrates complex structural principles.

Judge’s comments

A great example of process-led design, this finely tuned temporary pavilion achieves structural equilibrium through the careful balancing of geometry and internal forces. Specialist input from cable and membrane contractors, combined with digital modelling, delivered a slender, durable form, able to withstand wind and seismic loads while expressing the project’s artistic vision. The collaborative process encouraged younger engineers to take leading roles, demonstrating how creative and efficient design can emerge from both technical precision and inclusive teamwork.

Project overview

Structural Designer

  • Arup

Client Name

  • Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition

Location

  • Osaka, Japan

Architect

  • NHA | Naoki Hashimoto Architects, Kajima Corporation

Principal Contractor

  • Kajima Corporation

Key Contractors

  • Membrane fabricator and constructor: Taiyo Kogyo Corporation

    Steel fabricator: NIPPON STEEL ENGINEERING CO., LTD

Year Submitted

  • 2025

Key attributes

  • Process