In cooperation with the construction company Daisue, the Czech Republic has announced the completion of the shell of its national pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. This milestone includes the installation of all the glass panels for the façade, with the final panel being installed at the beginning of January—almost three weeks ahead of schedule.
“Construction of the interior walls and other finishing work is currently underway, along with the installation of air conditioning systems, power lines, and other technical equipment. After the smooth Czech-Japanese cooperation, we are now even more determined to quickly and safely complete this impressive building, which boasts a complex, modern, innovative, and aesthetically pleasing design,” said Kazunori Murao, CEO and President of Daisue Construction, Japan. He added, “I am delighted with the precision, speed, and the quality of the materials that the Czech team delivered to Japan.”
All major components of the pavilion, including the CLT (cross-laminated timber) spruce panels and the glass façade, were manufactured in the Czech Republic. A total of six Czech subcontractors were involved in the construction process: A2Timber, Stora Enso, and Novatop System (for the timber construction), as well as Wieden, Kolektiv Atelier, and AGC Teplice (for the glass façade). The prepared parts of the pavilion were transported in 69 containers from the Czech Republic to Hamburg, Germany’s largest port. From there, they were shipped to Osaka on a voyage lasting approximately 8 to 10 weeks, before being assembled step by step on the island of Yumeshima.
“On Wednesday, 17 April 2024, we signed the contract with the Japanese construction company Daisue. On Wednesday, 15 May 2024, construction officially began with the ceremony to appease the earth gods (Jichinsai) at the Czech site on Yumeshima Island. After the preparatory work, excavation began in July, and six months later, the shell of the building has been completed. Considering we only started assembling the wooden structure in mid-September, we are undoubtedly one of the countries with the fastest construction times. Our pavilion is innovative in many ways and will be the largest wooden CLT building of its kind without a metal structure in Japan,” explains Ondřej Soška, Chief Representative of the Czech delegation at Expo 2025.
Japanese visitors will be able to admire the Czech national pavilion, one of nearly 50 unique national pavilions, each built according to its own architectural design. The Czech pavilion was designed by Apropos Architects in collaboration with Tereza Šváchová. Over a hundred other countries will be represented in joint or standardised pavilions.
Visitors to the Czech pavilion can also look forward to a special culinary experience, with specialities inspired by traditional Czech cuisine. Dumplings will take centre stage, accompanied by freshly tapped Pilsner Urquell (Plzeňský Prazdroj).
The Japanese organisers expect a total of 150,000 to 300,000 visitors per day at the world exhibition, with between 12,000 and 15,000 visitors expected at the Czech pavilion. Expo 2025 will take place from 13 April to 13 October 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
Expo 2025 Osaka | Czech Republic
Website | Facebook | Instagram | X
