Spain's pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka,
designed by EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio,
Smart & Green Design
In a world that increasingly urgently needs new storytelling languages about the planet, the community and the future, architecture is becoming more than a structure. The Spanish Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka is an example of just such a narrative - one that is embedded in space, yet deeply conceptual. Designed by EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio and Smart & Green Design, the pavilion doesn't so much present a country as embody its ideas: openness, reflexivity and responsibility for the world we share with others. This design doesn't scream form, doesn't glitter with monumentality. He invites - to enter, to reflect, to participate. Into the sea.
Sun Square - an open entrance space with a central LED screen presenting multimedia content
photo. @archexist © EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio and Smart & Green Design
architecture as a wave:
from concept to landscape
The theme of the Spanish presence at the Expo is the Kuroshio Current, a powerful ocean current that has connected Japan to the rest of the world for centuries. In the 16th century, it was with it that Andrés de Urdaneta, a Basque sailor, returned from the Philippines to New Spain, establishing one of the first global trade routes. For modern artists, it's not just a historical curiosity - it's a metaphor: for interdependence, flow, exchange of ideas and energy.
Spain's pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka - bird's eye view
photo. @archexist © EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio and Smart & Green Design
The pavilion does not take the monumental, enclosed form typical of exhibitions. It's an open architectural landscape - a space more to be experienced than viewed. It has more of a Mediterranean agora than a spectacular stage. Architecture gives way to encounter, and form to narrative.
Spain's pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka - diagram.
© EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio and Smart & Green Design
From the sun to the depths: the path of immersion
The entrance leads visitors toward the so-called Plaza of the Sun, an illuminated space reminiscent of a square in a southern town. It's a prelude to the journey - a space of light, life and a symbolic "sun salutation," expressed through a large LED screen presenting an audiovisual story about the energy source from which everything begins.
We wanted people to be able to sit down, relax, talk.... almost as if they were sitting on the seashore
- says the project team.
Spain's pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka - stairs leading to the interior of the building
photo. @archexist © EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio and Smart & Green Design
Further on, the ramp gently leads "down" - towards the ocean depths. Immersion is the key word: both physical and emotional. The temperature of light, the saturation of colors, the sounds change. The visitor enters a world of ultramarine, where multimedia installations tell the story of Spain's relationship with the sea - cultural, economic and symbolic. In this part of the pavilion one will not find a standard exhibition. Instead - an experience of space where it moves between reflection and sensual presence. This is architecture as a medium.
Spain's pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka - the interior of the pavilion
photo. @archexist © EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio and Smart & Green Design
visitor center:
encounter, taste, community
From the "depths," the route leads to more functional spaces: a store with regional products, a meeting room and a restaurant serving reinterpretations of Spanish cuisine classics - with an emphasis on sustainably sourced ingredients, of course.
Spain's pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka - longitudinal cross section
© EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio and Smart & Green Design
circular architecture,
or responsibility in practice
One of the most distinguishing elements of the pavilion - besides its narrative - is its circularity. The project has been designed in such a way that the whole thing can be dismantled and reused. No element will end up in a landfill. The structure, the materials, the finishes - everything has been planned for future life outside Osaka. The structure is based on posts and beams made of Japanese red cedar - a wood chosen not only for aesthetics, but also for durability and locality. The prefabricated elements are easy to assemble and disassemble, without the use of heavy equipment, and the lightweight structure does not interfere with the ground of the artificial island.
Spain's pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka - interior of the pavilion
photo. @archexist © EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio and Smart & Green Design
The finishes and furniture also meet the highest standards of sustainable design. The ceramics came from Cumella's workshop, the furniture was designed by Ondarreta from recycled materials, and the wall panels were provided by Honext - a company that creates from paper fibers recovered from industrial waste. Even the decorative pieces were made from recycled fishing nets - thanks to a partnership with Gravity Wave. What's more, the Osaka Expo will be the first world exhibition to leave no permanent infrastructure - all buildings will be demolished after the event, and the island will return to its port function.
The entrance to the pavilion with a prominent staircase inspired by sea waves, leading to the exhibition area
photo. @archexist © EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio and Smart & Green Design
spain as a gesture - not a product
Against the backdrop of numerous pavilions that often resemble spectacular technology showrooms, the Spanish proposal is quiet, but loud in meaning. It doesn't sell. It doesn't advertise. It tells stories. It asks questions. It creates a community. It is an architecture that does not dominate - but invites. It does not demand admiration - but attentiveness. It is like the tide: subtle, but unstoppable.
Spain's pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka - interior of the pavilion.
photo. @archexist © EXTUDIO, ENORME Studio and Smart & Green Design
pavilion as a manifesto for the future
The Spanish Pavilion at Expo 2025 is more than an example of modern temporary architecture. It is a manifesto - spatial, cultural and environmental. It combines deep environmental awareness with openness to dialogue, and aesthetics with an educational and social function. At a time when architecture is increasingly measured by its responsibility not only to the user, but to the entire ecosystem, this project provides concrete answers. It doesn't theorize - it shows how things can be done. This is a pavilion that doesn't end with the last day of the exhibition. He - like the Kuroshio current - will continue to flow.
Elaborated: Anastazja Dżupina
Illustrations provided courtesy of ariadna cantis comunicación.
