{"id":77659,"date":"2025-10-13T12:15:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T12:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/77659\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T12:15:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T12:15:08","slug":"the-design-labo-creates-shell-shaped-pavilion-for-expo-osaka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/77659\/","title":{"rendered":"The Design Labo creates shell-shaped pavilion for Expo Osaka"},"content":{"rendered":"

The shell<\/a> of a prehistoric marine mollusc informed the spiral shape of the Pasona Natureverse Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka<\/a>, created by local architecture studio The Design Labo.<\/p>\n

Designed for staffing company Pasona Group, the pavilion<\/a> comprises two shell-shaped structures containing a series of interactive exhibition<\/a> spaces that explore physical, mental and social health, informed by the Expo’s theme, Designing Future Society for Our Lives.<\/p>\n

The Design Labo<\/a> modelled the main part of the pavilion on the spiralling shell of an ammonite, a type of prehistoric marine mollusc, which CEO Satoshi Itasaka describes as representing “the connection between humans and nature”.<\/p>\n

\"ExteriorThe Design Labo has created a shell-shaped pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka<\/p>\n

“Coiled shells have changed little for roughly 400 million years,” Itasaka told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“Having survived repeated mass extinctions without being eliminated, they may represent a ‘completed form’ of life,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“Since the Expo’s theme is life, we adopted the coiled shell as its symbol and conceived a pavilion where visitors can experience the connection between humans and nature and the continuity of life.”<\/p>\n

\"AboveThe pavilion’s shape draws on the shell of a prehistoric ammonite<\/p>\n

The 43-metre-wide Pasona Natureverse Pavilion is designed to be easily demountable, created using a ball-jointed steel structure over which a synthetic white membrane has been stretched. After the expo, it will be permanently relocated to Awaji Island to serve as a cultural centre.<\/p>\n

Alongside the pavilion’s main volume is a smaller conch-like structure, crowned with a sculpture of cartoon character NEO Astro Boy, which is the pavilion’s mascot, along with medical anime character Black Jack.<\/p>\n

\"ViewA sculpture of cartoon character NEO Astro Boy sits on the pavilion<\/p>\n

The exhibition spaces are organised into three zones, titled History of Life, Body and Mind\/Bonds, and each one contains a range of interactive and digital displays.<\/p>\n

Among the exhibits is a tree-shaped sculpture that depicts the history of evolution and a lab-grown heart created through biomaterials and bioengineering.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Noiz<\/p>\n

Osaka Expo pavilion features vibrating mirrored facade\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

“A spiral circulation route allows visitors to take in the exhibits efficiently, with a ceiling height that reaches up to 16m – we were reminded that biomimetic forms are not only structurally stable but also inherently beautiful,” explained Itasaka.<\/p>\n

“Within this grand volume, visitors encounter dynamic moving LED boxes, a zone where they can see a heart created from iPS<\/a> cells, and an area offering a glimpse into the world of soil microorganisms – content that combines surprise with learning,” he added.<\/p>\n

\"IlluminatedThe pavilion is illuminated at night<\/p>\n

A water-based cooling system coats the skin of the structure in a thin film of water to reduce the need for air conditioning, while the spiral form acts as a means of collecting and reusing both this water and rainwater, which is recirculated as grey water.<\/p>\n

At night, the pavilion is illuminated by strips of colour-changing lighting along the shell’s ridges as well as projected light effects.<\/p>\n

Expo 2025 Osaka, which ends today, features numerous pavilions created to represent both participating nations and private companies.<\/p>\n

Other examples featured on Dezeen include the USA Pavilion<\/a>, housed within a translucent cube designed by Trahan Architects, and a spiral-shaped ramp of timber and glass<\/a>, designed by Apropos Architects for the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n

The photography is courtesy of The Design Labo.<\/p>\n

Expo 2025 Osaka<\/a>\u00a0takes place in Osaka until 13 October 2025. For more fairs, events and talks in architecture and design visit\u00a0Dezeen Events Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The shell of a prehistoric marine mollusc informed the spiral shape of the Pasona Natureverse Pavilion at Expo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,5923,61,60,582,10825,5922,6756,814,815,50953,5325],"class_list":{"0":"post-77659","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-expo-2025-osaka","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-japan","18":"tag-japanese-architecture","19":"tag-osaka","20":"tag-pavilions","21":"tag-sectionall","22":"tag-sectionarchitecture","23":"tag-shells","24":"tag-steel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}