Expo Pavilion Materials to Be Reused for 3rd Time at Yokohama Horticultural Expo

By Taeka Matsuoka / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

11:43 JST, August 4, 2025

YOKOHAMA — In a striking move for sustainable architecture, building materials from the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo’s Women’s Pavilion are set to be used in a third major international event — the International Horticultural Expo 2027 in Yokohama.

This will mark the third use of the materials, a rarity in the construction industry, having previously been utilized at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Yuko Nagayama, 49, the architect who designed the pavilion, expressed her hope that “people will consider architectural reuse, especially at the Horticultural Expo, which has the environment as its theme.”

The Women’s Pavilion, a joint exhibition by world-renowned brand Cartier, the Cabinet Office and the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, aims to promote women’s empowerment both domestically and internationally. The exhibition showcases prominent figures, including poets, environmental activists and writers, and its immersive video experiences have received significant attention.

The reusable components include the white, hemp leaf-patterned exterior, referred to as the facade. The facade is made up of rod-shaped tubes that form the framework, spherical nodes into which the tubes are inserted and noncombustible membrane materials made of fluororesin.

After the Osaka-Kansai Expo closes, the facade — made up of about 7,000 parts in total — will be dismantled and then inspected by a contractor in Higashi-Matsuyama, Saitama Prefecture. The parts will be repaired and later transported to the Horticultural Expo venue.

The aim to reuse the materials stemmed from Nagayama’s desire that “while conventional buildings are tied to their locations, temporary architecture should be usable elsewhere.”

Because the reused sections are disassembled, they will not require a large storage space. This allows for efficiency in environmental considerations and cost.

At the Horticultural Expo, the materials are expected to be used for an indoor exhibition venue in the central symbol zone. This venue is expected to host exhibits from local governments and foreign countries, and the pavilion’s exterior is expected to look similar to that of the Women’s Pavilion.

New materials will also be incorporated, with the total floor space of the pavilion at the Horticultural Expo area projected to be about 2.5 times larger than the Women’s Pavilion. The white building is expected to stand out against the green of the overall venue, creating a space resembling a large forest. Construction is anticipated to begin around winter, with completion by autumn next year.

“It’s gratifying that this will be the third location for the building as movable architecture,” Nagayama said. “I hope people will consider environmental issues and appreciate the reuse of architecture.”

After the Horticultural Expo concludes, there are plans to consider its use at the Riyadh Expo in Saudi Arabia in 2030.