The Czech National Pavilion has taken its shape in Osaka in six months, with the rough construction completed three weeks in advance

"Currently, the construction of interior partitions and finishing works is underway, as well as the installation of air conditioning, electrical systems, and other equipment. Following the seamless Czech-Japanese collaboration, we are now even more determined to complete this stunning building, with its complex, modern, innovative, and beautiful design, both swiftly and safely," says Kazunori Murao, CEO and President of the Japanese construction company Daisue Construction. He adds, "I am impressed by the precision and efficiency of the Czech workers and the high-quality materials they brought to Japan."

All key parts of the pavilion, namely the spruce CLT wooden panels and the glass facade, were manufactured in Czechia, with six Czech subcontractors contributing to the process: A2Timber, Stora Enso, and Novatop System (wooden structure of the pavilion) and Wieden, Kolektiv Atelier, and AGC Teplice (glass facade). The pre-assembled pavilion components were transported in 69 containers from Czechia to Hamburg, Germany's largest port, and then shipped over approximately 8-10 weeks to Osaka. On Yumeshima Island, the parts were gradually assembled. Installation teams from A2Timber and Wieden were personally involved in the installation process in Osaka.

"We signed the contract with the Japanese construction company Daisue on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The formal commencement of construction took place on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, with a ceremony for appeasing the land gods, known as Jichinsai, on the Czech plot of land on Yumeshima Island, followed by preparatory works. Excavation work began in July, and just six months later, the rough construction was already completed. Given that we started installing the wooden structure in mid-September, we are undoubtedly one of the countries with the fastest construction time. Our pavilion is innovative in many ways and will be the largest wooden CLT structure of its kind in Japan without a metal framework. I am thrilled with how quickly the construction is progressing and how well we are collaborating with Daisue," explains Ondřej Soška, Commissioner General of the Czech participation at EXPO 2025.

The gates of the World EXPO, which will take place this year in Osaka, Japan, will open on April 13, 2025. Japanese visitors will also be able to admire the Czech National Pavilion, which will be one of nearly fifty unique national pavilions, each building its structure based on its own architectural design. The Czech design was created by Apropos Architects in collaboration with Tereza Šváchová. Over a hundred other countries will be represented in shared or pre-built pavilions. The progress of construction on-site is personally overseen by the Commissioner General of Czechia's participation, Ondřej Soška, who maintains a photo gallery and diary of the most interesting moments from the construction process, publishing it every Friday (or weekend) on his LinkedIn profile. Monthly, we also publish the Commissioner General’s Journal in the form of articles. The notes for September and October can be found here, November here, and December at this link.

Weekly images can be found at this link.

About the Czech Pavilion at EXPO 2025 In December 2022, after more than twenty years, the Office of the Commissioner General announced an open, anonymous architectural competition to design the National Pavilion for EXPO 2025. Thirty-eight studios have participated, and in March 2023 a jury of experts led by the world-renowned architect Eva Jiřičná selected the winning design: a glass spiral by Apropos Architects. The main structure of the building will be made of modern wood panels, while the façade will feature art glass, which has a centuries-old tradition in Czechia. The National Pavilion, which will be located on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay from April to October 2025, will provide a prestigious setting for Czech participation at  EXPO 2025. The pavilion will house a permanent exhibition, a multifunctional auditorium, facilities for business meetings, restaurants, a CTP lounge, and a relaxation area overlooking the sea.

About the Czech participation at EXPO 2025 This will be the sixth time that Czechia has taken part in a world exhibition as an independent state. Ondřej Soška, who won the Ministry of Foreign Affairs selection process with his concept and theme "Talent and Creativity for Life", has been serving as Commissioner General since September 2022. Czechia aims to showcase not only what the Japanese already know and admire, such as Czech glass and classical music, but above all Czech innovations, nanotechnologies, promising start-ups and talent from the regions.