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- Bureau International des Expositions
5 pavilions from Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai that are on the move
On 13 October 2025, Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai closed its gates for the last time. Visitors and participants returned home, and exhibits and pavilions were gradually taken down. Yet while some pavilions were dismantled for parts, others began a new chapter, set for a second life beyond the Expo site. Learn about five pavilions from Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai that are set to reappear in a new form or a new home:
1. From schoolhouse to pavilion and more: the Dialogue Theater
The Dialogue Theater – sign of life Signature Pavilion, produced by filmmaker Naomi Kawase, was itself created by giving new life to former school buildings from Fukuchiyama (Kyoto Prefecture) and Totsukawa (Nara Prefecture). At Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, these structures formed part of a pavilion dedicated to dialogue, bringing strangers together through conversations about their differences, experiences and connections. The pavilion is now being transformed once again. Its three buildings - the Dialogue Theater, the Entrance Building and the Meeting House in the Forest – are set to be relocated to Izumisano Hillside Green Space, where they will form part of a permanent cultural venue from FY 2028.
2. From null² to null⁴: a pavilion reimagined
At Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, media artist Yoichi Ochiai created the null² Signature Pavilion, exploring the boundaries between nature, technology and human experience through a dynamic, mirror-like structure and immersive digital installations. Rather than ending the project with the Expo, the concept and technology are continuing in a new form. At Expo 2027 Yokohama, Ochiai will present null⁴ (Tetra-Null), a new work made of four rotating mirrored bodies that carries forward to ideas of null2. The pavilion is therefore not simply relocated, but reimagined for a new Expo, demonstrating evolution and development from one Expo to another.
3. Uzbekistan – the Garden of Knowledge moves to Nukus
The Uzbekistan pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, designed as a "Garden of Knowledge," was built with a second life in mind. Its modular timber structure was inspired by the caravanserai and Khiva’s Juma Mosque. It was entirely built from locally sourced wood and dry-assembled so that it could be reused. After the Expo, it was dismantled, transported to Nukus, Karakalpakstan, and is being reassembled as part of a Children’s Library and cultural campus. The pavilion’s soaring wooden columns will create a shaded public space, while the library - inspired by the Iwan - will echo its rhythmic design. This transformation turns temporary architecture into a lasting educational and cultural hub, embodying sustainability, heritage, and community.
4. The Netherlands – Common Ground from Yumeshima to Awaji Island
The Netherlands pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, themed "A New Dawn on Common Ground," was designed for reuse. Its modular steel structure, bolted (rather than welded) and registered for material traceability, was always intended to be dismantled and rebuilt. After the Expo, it was carefully disassembled - every beam, panel, and even the iconic 10.6-meter LED sphere - and prepared for relocation. The pavilion will rise again on Awaji Island, Japan, as a hub for international exchange operated by Pasona Group. From Yumeshima to Awaji, the pavilion’s journey turns temporary architecture into a lasting symbol of hope, resilience, and shared innovation.
5. PASONA NATUREVERSE – the circularity of life in action
PASONA NATUREVERSE, one of the domestic pavilions at Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, redefined architecture as a living ecosystem. The 43-metre-wide, two-storey steel-frame pavilion was inspired by the spiral of the ammonite, a symbol of evolution and continuity. Its 6,000 ball-jointed truss elements were designed for easy disassembly and relocation, while water-film roof cooling reduced its energy use. After the Expo, the pavilion is also moving to Awaji Island, where it will advance Pasona Group’s NATUREVERSE vision, a world where people, nature, and technology coexist in harmony. The pavilion is set to become a cultural and community hub, embodying gratitude for life, circular design, and the island’s legacy of resilience and renewal.
