Construction Completed on Osaka Expo’s Ring; One of World’s Largest Wood Structures Stands on Japan’s Yumeshima Island

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:58 JST, August 22, 2024

A huge wooden ring was completed Wednesday at the site of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, a symbol of the international event set to start there in April next year.

The Ring, also known as the Grand Roof, and its pillars form a structure with a circumference of 2 kilometers. It is one of the largest wooden structures in the world, also measuring 30 meters wide and 12 to 20 meters high.

The structure is intended to represent the Expo’s philosophy of “Unity in Diversity.” It cost ¥34.4 billion to build on the reclaimed island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay.

Visitors will be able to walk on and under the structure.

Major general contractors Obayashi Corp., Takenaka Corp. and Shimizu Corp. divided the project into three sections to work on independently, under their own joint ventures. The sections have been under construction since June 2023.

At 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the last piece of timber was put into place by crane, signaling the completion of the Ring about a month ahead of schedule. The efficient deployment of personnel has been cited as one factor behind the speedy completion of this leg of the project.

Elevators and other elements will be installed by February 2025.

Construction of the overseas pavilions inside the Ring has been delayed but is expected to get fully underway soon.

The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, the organization overseeing the Expo, said five entrances had been set up under the Ring to accommodate construction vehicle traffic, so that the completed structure will not impede access to construction inside.

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters Wednesday that he had suggested to the association the idea of having the public come up with another nickname for the Ring.