www.expo2025germany.de

The German Pavilion
at Expo 2025 in Osaka

Organised byExpo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japanwww.expo2025germany.de

The GermanPavilion
at Expo 2025

The Expo 2025 sees itself as a testing ground for the society of the future.
Between 13 April and 13 October 2025, countries from around the world
are meeting at Expo Osaka to embrace the motto “Designing Future
Society for Our Lives”. The aim is to discuss how society can achieve
the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. As a “People’s LivingLab” for mapping out the society of the future, this Expo is being conducted as a field experiment to probe new systems and technologies.
To inspire innovations and point the way towards implementing them intomorrow’s sustainable society – that is its objective.

Theme and leitmotif: Mutuallyshaping a circular world

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The German Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka has dedicated its presence tothe theme around which the shaping of our future revolves: the circulareconomy. Circularity is the terminological culmination of the sustainability discussion. It is the fulcrum that enables sustainable economies toleverage the holistic closing of material cycles. The primary objective of acircular economy is one with zero waste in which all consumable goods
are returned into the cycle and whose consumption of resources is radically minimised. Circularity is the leitmotif of the German Pavilion: Mutually shaping a circular world is the motto. It is all based on the notionof circularity or – translated into design terms – on the shape of a circle:
the Pavilion itself, the visitor experience, the design, the technologies
and future visions presented all assume this form.

www.expo2025germany.de

A circular pavilion:
Its leitmotif at a glance3

Just one quick glance at the architecture of theGerman Pavilion consisting of seven roundstructural elements made of wood conveys
the leitmotif of circularity. As a holistic entity,
the Pavilion marries nature and technology,
biosphere and human-made technosphere into
one unique visitor experience. In the draft, twoensembles of cylindrical structural elements
framing the curated exhibition area and hospitality area join to merge into a freely accessible
green park area. Not only do buildings andgarden interact as one creative design unit, butthey mutually enhance each other functionallyas well. The Pavilion exemplifies how tomorrow’sarchitecture and urban development could joinsustainability and circularity with aesthetics
and lived experiences and how built environments and nature can interact as integrated
closed material cycles in a sustainability-driven
society.

www.expo2025germany.de

Architectural design:
The Pavilion as an exhibitof circular building

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We need to rethink the way in which we design,produce and operate our built environment;
but above all, how we post-use or repurpose it.
Therein lies enormous and unharnessed potential to help us achieve our sustainability goals.
Our intention must be to integrate biosphereand technosphere, the design of built environments whilst reflecting a full awareness ofthe multiple interdependencies and reciprocalinteractions between biological and technicalcycles. With this in mind, the German Pavilion
at Expo 2025 Osaka is designed to serve as an
example in myriad ways. It consists of a completely circular structure, embedded in thefunctional landscape in the form of a park.
The Pavilion’s distinguishing features include
an intelligent indoor climate design andinnovative circular construction materials
and minimal use of materials that are 100%
reusable or recyclable. Thereby, the German
Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka itself shall become
an exponent for circular and sustainablebuilding in its own right.

www.expo2025germany.de

Title and logo:

わ！ドイツ Wa! Germany

Mascots and personal guides:
the Circulars

5This title is pronounced: Wa! Doitsu and translated means: Wow! Germany. In Japanese, there
are multiple positive connotations to the term
“Wa” (わ): It can mean “circle,” which is why it fitsin perfectly with Germany’s leitmotif of circularity. “Wa” can also mean “harmony” thus epitomising the concept of the harmonious balancing
of nature and technology – in other words, thegoal of circular economies. And: The word “Wa”
stands for “Wow!” and thereby expresses theenthusiasm that Germany and its Pavilion shallgenerate at the Expo. The name of the Pavilion will be integrated in a dynamic logo with atrio of black, red and gold circles, symbolising
the Pavilion’s architecture. The circles virtuallyappear to be moving, Germany virtually appears
to be moving off and upwards into a sustainable,circular future!

The Pavilion will be inhabited by cute, little
spherical creatures called the Circulars. Inspiredby Kawaii – the Japanese cuteness aesthetics –the tiny Circulars are adorable, fabulous beings
that already live in a circular world. These
congenial and diminutive characters loveeverything circular. They can be encountered invarious guises, shapes and forms everywherearound the Pavilion: In human-sized walking act
costumes, in graphics or as animated figures.
No matter what their incarnation, the main purpose of the Circulars is to be speaking guides.
On their journey through Pavilion, they tell thevisitors about the contents and explain what itmeans to live out the philosophy of a circulareconomy.

www.expo2025germany.de

Visitor experience: Pointing
the way towards
a circular futureWith its Pavilion, Germany is extending an invitation to the international community to mutually contemplate about a circular world wherearchitecture, landscape and exhibition merge
into a unified whole whilst creating a uniquevisitor experience that points out ways we canmove towards a circular future. Are circularcities our future habitats? How can Germany
become circular and thereby emission-free?
What role do digital forward-looking technologies play? How will a circular economy succeed
in securing our energy supply? And, ultimately,
what does it mean for each of us individuals toinhabit a circular society? Thanks to numerous
best-practice innovations “made in Germany”,
the country can point the way into the futureand illustrate how the German vision of a sustainable, circular society can truly function.

6www.expo2025germany.de

The exhibition experience:Immersive spaces lend themselves to making circularity
emotionally tangible

Visitors to the exhibition embark on an emotional and multisensory journey during which
they can learn about and grasp visions of what
living in a circular society could be like. The
circular exhibition tour was conceived as aseries of immersive spatial experiences – similarly guided by the leitmotif: the cycle. After
travelling around the biosphere and circular
cities through closed material and energy
cycles, the visitors return to a biosphere where
humans and nature appear to have reconciled their co-existence. Accompanied by their
Circular, the visitors get to take a deep dive intoa circular society and find out it would be likefor them to be a part of it.

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www.expo2025germany.deYour HostThe Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is theauthority responsible for the German presence at Expo 2025 Osaka.
Koelnmesse GmbH will be organising and running the German Pavilion
on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
Since 2022, Cologne has been threading the needle in preparation.
Together with the Ministry, the Expo Team at Koelnmesse GmbH will be
your on-site host in 2025.
The “German Pavilion Consortium Expo 2025 Osaka” comprising thetwo companies facts and fiction GmbH (Cologne) and GL events (Lyonand Japan) is in charge of concept design, planning and realisation.
facts and fiction is responsible for content, exhibition and media design,and the pavilion is being built by GL events. The architecture and spatial design come from LAVA – Laboratory for Visionary Architecture(Berlin).

Your contact person for all questions
Annika Belisle
Head of Communications
Expo 2025 Osaka
Koelnmesse GmbHMesseplatz 150679 Cologne
Germany
Phone +49 221 821-2251
media@expo2025germany.de
www.expo2025germany.de© Federal Ministry for Economic
Affairs and Climate Action© facts and fiction | gl events | lava

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Status as per: 11 April 2023