Wa! Germany
Circular Living
Circular Me
Biosphere
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Name of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)
Wa! Germany
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URL of a video introducing the work（under 5 minutes）
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paiVt1OXGL8
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Detailed explanation of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)
The German Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka is designed under the theme of the circular economy, emphasizing sustainability and minimal resource consumption. It embodies the circular economy in its design, including the circular shape of the pavilion, a harmonious blend of nature and technology and its interaction with a green park area. This demonstrates how architecture and urban development can be reconciled with sustainability.
The pavilion emphasizes the need to rethink the way we design, produce and repurpose our built environment to achieve sustainability goals. It integrates the biosphere and the technosphere by using innovative materials and an intelligent indoor climate design.
The title "Wa! Doitsu" means "Wow! Germany" in Japanese and stands for the harmonious balance between nature and technology. In Japanese, there are multiple positive connotations to the term "Wa" (わ): It can mean "circle," which is why it fits in perfectly with Germany's leitmotif of circularity. "Wa" can also mean "harmony" thus epitomizing the concept of the harmonious balancing of nature and technology - in other words, the goal of circular economies. The logo shows black, red and gold circles symbolizing the architecture of the pavilion and Germany's path to a circular future.
Cute, spherical creatures, the Circulars, inspired by the Japanese cuteness aesthetic, serve as talking guides through the pavilion and explain the circular economy philosophy.
The pavilion invites the international community to explore a circular world where architecture, landscape and exhibition create a unique visitor experience. It raises questions about circular cities, Germany's path to a circular economy and the role of digital technologies in realizing a circular economy.
Visitors embark on an emotional and multi-sensory journey where they learn more about life in a circular society through immersive experiences. The exhibition tour follows the leitmotif of the cycle and illustrates a future in which humans and nature coexist harmoniously in a circular society.
In summary, the German Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka showcases circularity, sustainability and the potential for a circular society through its design, materials and immersive experiences, inspiring visitors to envision a more sustainable and circular future. -
How does your work address the 3 P’s (for Planet, for People, for Profit) for Sustainability?
In its entirety, the pavilion combines nature and technology, biosphere and man-made technosphere to create a unique visitor experience. As a walk-in exhibit, the pavilion exemplifies how architecture and urban planning will combine sustainability and circularity with beauty and experience in the future, and how the built environment and nature can interact as integrated material cycles in a sustainable society. The visitor experience not only makes circular visions and innovations tangible, but also demonstrates that their implementation depends on us humans: Every single one of us.
From the very beginning, the development process of the German Pavilion focused not only on economic considerations, but above all on social and ecological factors and impacts. Following our guiding principle of circularity, all process steps of our work are motivated by the sustainability goals and the principles of circular construction. Thus, the pavilion is designed with full awareness of the multiple linkages and interdependencies in numerous resource and material cycles. The principles of circular construction and sustainability are both applied concretely and made tangible and illustrative for visitors. For example, the German Pavilion pursues environmental sustainability by using innovative and green technologies, environmentally friendly materials and, where possible, local suppliers. For us, this goes hand in hand with cultural sustainability and social responsibility: the rights, welfare and general working conditions of our employees are just as important to us as the fair treatment of all people in the supply chain. -
Where (country, region, etc.) have you primarily carried out your project?
Osaka, Kansai, Japan
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What is the timeline your project has taken place over?
Preparations 2021-2025, Operation 13.04.2025-13.10.2025
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Keywords
#Expo #Circularity #Exhibition
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If you have a website for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL
https://expo2025germany.de/startseite-en/
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If you have a social media account for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL
https://www.instagram.com/expo2025germany/
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Special Prize Question 1: Is there a mechanism in place to inherit culture and industry as assets for people living in that area 100 or even 1000 years from now?
The German Pavilion shows that a circular society is possible. It proves this as a building that meets the demands of circularity in large parts: It shows how construction, use, operation, deconstruction and after-use can be rethought in terms of considering the entire life cycle of raw materials. It also shows this through the many circular techniques, products and innovations it displays in its exhibition. We hope that the German Pavilion will continue to help the concept of circularity to its international break through, and thus help to create a sustainable and livable future for future generations.
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Special Prize Question 2: What is the positive impact on biodiversity? Is the project creating a cycle not just from a human-centered perspective but for the entire ecosystem?
The German Pavilion, all materials, all living or mineral building materials, everything that contributes to this temporary ecosystem is selected, built, used and then passed on to another new ecosystem with respect and the greatest possible care. Following the idea of Biophilic Design, open space and architectural qualities are closely coordinated in the German Pavilion - with the aim of creating a healthy, inspiring environment. Following the guiding principle of a STADTNATUR, a robust, site-appropriate, biodiverse plant community is to be established to create diverse habitats. In this regard, all taller plants such as shrubs and trees are borrowed in Osaka and arranged to create space.
Our landscape design follows the principle: poetry and sensual aesthetics of a garden - in combination and synergy with ecosystem services. For example, the meadow landscape is, on the one hand, a sensual oasis, a rush of flowers and a photo motif. But it is also a rainwater retention space, heavy rain buffer, insect pasture and climate-regulating evaporation surface thanks to the integrated drainage topography. In this way, the German Pavilion creates a circular ecosystem with exemplary character in which man and nature exist in harmony. -
Special Prize Question 3: Are you enabling new forms of collaboration with others? New forms of collaboration might include cross-industry cooperation, co-creation with consumers, or role transformations within the supply chain.
The development of the German Pavilion is based on a close cooperation network of planning partners, suppliers and representatives from research and industry. In a continuous exchange, people from different disciplines work together with a common goal in mind: creating a circular world. The project thus represents the state of knowledge and approaches in Germany on the subject of circularity.
Furthermore, the Expo is a unique platform for international exchange and cooperation. In addition to visitors from all over the world, countless delegations from politics, research and business meet here to peacefully discuss ways forward. The format of a central, analog gathering may seem old-fashioned, but it has lost none of its power and influence.
