From UAE to Japan: Women’s Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka has roots in Dubai's world's fair

Striking white structure acts as a bridge between two world’s fairs and tells inspiring stories of women from around the globe

The Women's Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka was conceived by Yuko Nagayama, a renowned Japanese architect, reusing the facade of the Japan Pavilion from Expo 2020 Dubai that she had also designed. Victor Besa / The National

The pavilion reflects the hope for a brighter future in which all individuals, regardless of gender, have the opportunity to reach their dreams. Victor Besa / The National

Green areas and flower beds welcome visitors at the entrance and upper level. Victor Besa / The National

People can relax in a garden with native flowers and shrubs that opens up to the sky. Victor Besa / The National

The plants and trees will be replanted in areas outside the city at the end of the expo in October. Victor Besa / The National

Visitors stream into the Women's Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka to listen to the stories of women from around the world. Victor Besa / The National

Visitors can look out at the expo through the origami-inspired translucent motifs that make up the facade. Victor Besa / The National

Visitors pick different paths to follow in the pavilion and learn from experiences of women around the world. Victor Besa / The National

The pavilion was designed in collaboration with Cartier, Japan’s Ministry of Economy and Trade and the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition. Victor Besa / The National

Geometric motifs have been repurposed from the popular Japan Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020 to build the Women's Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka. Victor Besa / The National

Canvas, stone and plant art work amplify the voices of women and tell of their contributions. Victor Besa / The National

Visitors spend time learning about the power of including nature in everyday life. Victor Besa / The National

The Women's Pavilion is beside the world's largest wooden ring at Expo 2025 Osaka. Victor Besa / The National

More than six million visitors have visited Expo 2025 Osaka since the April opening. Victor Besa / The National

School children and visitors from across Japan and overseas create memories at Expo 2025 Osaka. Victor Besa / The National

The Women's Pavilion in Expo 2025 Osaka has been repurposed from the popular Japan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

Millions visited the Japan pavilion after booking a spot days ahead during Expo 2020 Dubai. Ruel Pableo for The National

The Japan Pavilion was one of the must-see spaces during Expo 2020 Dubai. Victor Besa/The National

Exhibitions inside the Japan Pavilion during Expo 2020 Dubai explored modern Japan through a series of miniatures. Ruel Pableo for The National

The Japan pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai invited people to visit the world fair when it moved to Osaka by training a spotlight on technology, tourism and innovation. Ruel Pableo for The National

Japan's crowd-pleasing pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai has been transported from the Middle East to the Far East to wow visitors five years on at the latest world's fair in Osaka.

The white origami-inspired structure has been repurposed as the Women's Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, serving to build on the strong cultural connections between the past two event hosts.

The translucent membrane-like structure that combines both Japanese and Middle Eastern geometric patterns was among the most popular sites of the Dubai Expo.

The geometric motifs were reassembled by a renowned Japanese architect into the Women's Pavilion to forge a link between two global expositions in the UAE and Japan.

“I wanted to express Japanese reality as it is for our generation, as our consciousness is not entirely immersed in Japan. We are a global mix and a distinct kind of Japanese-ness has arisen from that mix,” said Yuko Nagayama, who conceived both the Japan pavilion at the Dubai Expo and the Osaka project that tells stories of women, empowerment and gender equality.

People can take a pause in our Japanese garden which is a quieter space and look at the expo below

Emmanuelle Begue,
Cartier Women’s Pavilion deputy lead

A stunning example of adaptive architecture, the facade that drew millions in Dubai has been reutilised in Osaka and is drawing curious visitors once again.

Ms Nagayama said she designed it merging traditional Arabesque and Japanese patterns to reflect the connections with cultures of the Middle East.

Tradition mixed with modernity

At the Osaka Expo that opened in April, the remodelled pavilion sits beside the world’s largest wooden ring that encircles hundreds of national pavilions.

About 10,000 steel rods and ball joints were given a new lease of life and reassembled at the new site in Japan to inspire others to conserve and recycle.

The origami cubes that knit into a tightly-closed frame at the Dubai Expo have opened up in Osaka almost like windows looking over the Expo site.

“We saw this as a great opportunity to show the potential of reusing material,” said Ms Nagayama.

The facade draws inspiration from Japanese kumiko woodwork, a traditional technique that assembles thin slats of timbre without using nails.

“I hope the Women’s Pavilion will be a starting point, and eventually the issues that women face will be resolved and the next generation will no longer need a separate pavilion,” she said.

Core message

Instead of water bodies that surrounded the pavilion in Dubai, green spaces have been created by replanting shrubs and plants from the mountains surrounding Kansai and Osaka.

The play of light and shade on the origami exterior lends it a different feel when lit up at night and under the glare of the sun.

The plants from the mountains near Osaka and Kansai will be replanted outside the city after the Expo 2025 Osaka ends in October. Victor Besa / The National

The core message is a call for a bright future with mutual respect in which everyone, irrespective of gender, has the opportunity to reach their full potential and live together in harmony.

“The idea to use plants is about nurturing so people can take a pause in our Japanese garden which is a quieter space and look down over at the expo below,” said Emmanuelle Begue, the Cartier Women’s Pavilion venue deputy lead. “We want people to browse and get immersed in the experience.”

Once the Expo ends, the plants and trees will be replanted in a forest outside Osaka.

The Women’s Pavilion in collaboration with Cartier is a project of Japan’s Ministry of Economy and Trade and the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition.

The idea of a women’s pavilion dates back to the Expo 1873 Vienna as a powerful expression for women to converge, showcase their work, ideas and highlight their rights.

At Osaka, the pavilion seeks to stimulate the senses with canvas, stone and plant art work using storytelling to amplify the voices of women, train the spotlight on their contributions and empower the next generation.

Visitors can select various paths, watch a series of video and audio messages from women lawyers, activists, artists, entrepreneurs and leaders.

“You can listen to a woman who explains what it is like being a refugee and coming from a country at war, the women talk about the environment, the challenges we face, there are so many different layers,” Ms Begue said.

“We are working on the theme of togetherness and want everyone to feel involved.”

Award-winning British artist Es Devlin, the global artistic lead of the Women’s Pavilion, said the focus was on their transformative power.

Ms Devlin had conceptualised the UK pavilion at the Dubai Expo where visitors were asked to contribute a word and the text was broadcast across a massive wooden conical structure.

Visitors stream into the Women's Pavilion at the Expo 2025 Osaka and listen to transformative stories of women from across the world. Victor Besa / The National

“I’ve always viewed World Expos as a collection of unique musical instruments, where each pavilion sings and reverberates well beyond its initial six-month lifespan,” Ms Devlin said in a bulletin on women released by the BIE, the organisation that supervises the World Expos.

She said the stories shared in Osaka would engage visitors as “facts are far more effective when they are felt.”

“I feel the impact could be immense as the pavilion really has the ability to touch, reach and make a difference. The pavilion is for all. It's using the word woman as a lens to explore specific challenges and to celebrate specific achievements.”

Plans for parts of the structure to have a life beyond the two expos are being worked out.

The pavilion has more than 150 programmes and workshops around gender, art, culture, financial education scheduled through to October.