The competition entry for the Austrian Pavilion at the World Expo Osaka 2025 deals with the topics “Respect Nature & Constructive Discourse”. Great Austrian thinkers like Nobel prize-winners, philosophers, scientists, artists…. inspire the visitors to think about the future, to argue about the crises and to develop solutions. Different cultural ways of thinking and mentalities will engage into a “CONSTRUCTIVE DISCOURSE” with the aim of shaping our future society. The visitors will become the center of our narrative to target the global goals of humanity: “THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 2030”.
I.Inside, visitors will find a space with columns reminiscent of a forest, in which the exhibition is embedded. Concrete multimedia content and messages of the pavilion can be experienced interactively at the columns. Austria’s ability to merge nature, tradition and innovation is presented.
II.the interactive, immersive “Free Mind Space” surprises visitors with an infotainment show: during the Expo it refers to daily developments, results and innovations from Austria: drawing from tradition, taking nature as a source of ideas, accepting risk as part of every innovation and breaking new unknown ground.
III. visitors walk on the roof of the pavilion through a beautiful natural landscape, marked with red-white-red hiking trail markings, acoustically enveloped by the whispering voices of the “Whispering Mountain”. The visitors leave the pavilion at the end of the path and “walk with Austria”.
The construction as a symbiosis of origami & Austrian wood know-how is a unique sign of the cooperation between Austria and Japan. The resource-saving construction can be disassembled and reused. The lightweight post and beam structure of laminated wood stands on pre-stressed concrete foundations. Stainless steel connections allow for both the necessary flexibility and the achievement of seismic resistance.
The side benefit of the vegetated hill is complete protection from direct sunlight and overheating in an “overheated expo site”. A 0 KWHPE/m²/year consumption is assumed. Heating and cooling will be provided by a heat exchange system coming from seawater in Osaka Bay in very close proximity. A mechanical ventilation system will vent the rising hot air on the north facade.
At this point we would like to criticize the insufficient competence of the jury, which would have been necessary for a technically correct evaluation of feasibility and sustainability.
