Works#Kansai

EARTH MART, the signature pavilion for the 2025 World Exposition in Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo), was produced by Kundo Koyama. Based on the theme of "Considering Life through Food," it shares the potential of the food culture cultivated by the Japanese people and the evolution of food through technology, creating a space for considering "new ways of eating" that will lead us into the future. The design, which showcases "life" in a supermarket setting typically filled with "food," allows visitors to experience and gain insights into the background of life. Discovering value in everyday scenes provides an opportunity to reflect on the choices we make in various daily situations. Furthermore, the space is constructed using living materials such as "vegetable flowers" and "recycled eggs made from eggshells." The content itself was developed in collaboration with various people involved in food (farmers, sushi chefs, biotechnology researchers), creating an "integrated worldview" that unfolds in the space, thereby conveying its message. By resetting various assumptions through these "fragments of life," visitors can become aware of what is truly important to life, develop gratitude and kindness, and experience a subtle happiness. This product embodies Producer Koyama's desire to leave you with a lasting impression that makes you want to cherish mealtimes just a little more than yesterday.

Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City, hosting the Osaka-Kansai Expo, are exhibiting at the "Osaka Healthcare Pavilion Nest for Reborn," a joint collaboration between industry, academia, and the public sector. As the lead displays joint venture, we were responsible for the master plan, schematic design, working drawings, and construction. The basic concept of the pavilion was to "experience a life where future medical care and healthcare are ubiquitous, while also displays as an experiment in future society that will connect to a legacy." We expressed this concept through the future themes of "healthcare," "city," "food and culture," and "entertainment." The main program, the "Reborn Experience Route," allows visitors to measure their health data with a "Body Measurement Pod" and meet their 25-year-old selves. Together with this 25-year-old version of themselves, they can experience the future of healthcare and urban life envisioned by approximately 20 exhibiting companies, primarily from Osaka, and experience a rebirth of their future selves. This exhibition was created with the hope that it would inspire people to be reborn and take a new step towards a "future society where life shines." [Characteristics of the project] displays was created with the hope that it would inspire people to be reborn and take a new step towards a "future society where life shines." The hope was that it would inspire people to be reborn and take a new step towards a "future society where life shines." This was made possible by bringing together the hopes of the general producer, advisors, exhibiting companies, and many other stakeholders.

Located in Umekoji Park in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Aquarium is a popular social area visited by a wide range of people, from children to adults. We have renovated "Mittete," a new area with a wide range of functions, including displays about the aquarium, workshops, and a place to rest. The space is designed to be a place where visitors can learn not only about the animals, but also about the staff's feelings towards them, and the activities of the staff and the aquarium, making them even more fond of Kyoto Aquarium.

As the host country of the 2025 World Exposition, Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo), which will be held under the theme of "concept design a Future Society for Life," this pavilion, based on the theme "Between Life and Life," seamlessly connects displays and architecture, allowing visitors to experience the significance of "circulation." The Japan Pavilion, with its circular structure embodying the relay of life, exudes a unique presence as a pavilion of a host country. While the flow of visitors is naturally drawn into the pavilion as they walk around it, its most distinctive feature is the countless wooden planks arranged in a circular pattern. The gaps between these planks allow visitors to glimpse the interior, and the continuity between inside and outside, displays and architecture, encourages visitors to become aware of the "in-between" aspect of the pavilion's theme. Another unique feature of this pavilion is the concept of a "Japan Pavilion that eats garbage." Microorganisms will decompose waste generated within the Expo site and convert it into energy and water. This "living pavilion" allows visitors to relive this process through an installation* and experience how the energy and water generated power the Japan Pavilion. By circulating the three-zone pavilion, visitors can sense the significance of "circulation," a Japanese aesthetic, and truly feel part of this long and magnificent story. Additionally, by using primarily cross-laminated timber (CLT) as "wooden boards" and steel for the structure, the pavilion uses CLT in as simple and symbolic a way as possible. The CLT used in the Japan Pavilion is planned for reuse by companies and local governments across Japan after the Expo ends, and has been designed for easy dismantling and repurposing. By understanding the value of "circulation," which underlies the Japan Pavilion's theme, "Between Life and Life," we aim to encourage visitors to reexamine the circulation that surrounds us and explore the future of society and hints for a sustainable future. Our company is responsible for displays concept design (schematic design, working drawings), construction, and operation of the Japan Pavilion. *A contemporary art form in which the entire displays space is experienced as a work of art. The audience walks around the space and enjoys the work through sights, sounds, and more.

This pavilion for the Osaka-Kansai Expo uses realistic materials to express the rich stories of Qatar's people, land, and sea. The space is composed of real sand that recreates the desert landscape with delicate gradations, aluminum that resembles the deep sea covering the floor, walls, and ceiling, and a giant curtain with intricate embroidery that symbolizes the country's cultural richness. We designed an experiential displays space in which Qatar's traditional crafts and landscapes emerge in a fantastical way amid materials that directly appeal to the visitor's sensibilities.

Located at the gateway to the "Umekita Phase 2 Area," Umekita Green Place is a commercial complex themed around "greenery" and "a place for encounters and interaction." We proposed creating a facility with 20 stores, primarily restaurants and cafes, that would create a lush green plaza and a lively, relaxing space where visitors can wander around and enjoy themselves, catering to the needs of people passing through the JR Osaka Station area for a variety of purposes, from nearby office workers to people visiting the park or shopping. We were responsible for the planning, design and construction of the food court on the second floor and the restrooms on the second and third floors, as well as furniture and fixture manufacturing of the entire facility.

We were responsible for design, layout, sign and graphic concept design, interior administration, furniture and fixture manufacturing, environmental features, and construction of the restaurant "Lounge & Dining" at the 2025 World Exposition, Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo). This facility is concept design to be a "place of hospitality" welcoming guests from Japan and abroad, and combines high-quality spatial presentation with comfort. We aimed to create a space that would create a memorable and special experience for people gathering from all over the world.

Lawson's new store, opening within the 2025 World Expo, Japan site, is located in front of the East Gate entrance, which is directly connected to Yumeshima Station (Osaka Metro Chuo Line), the closest station to the site. The store features noren art representing each of the 47 prefectures and wall art inspired by Lawson's vision of a "Happy Lawson Town"—a symbiotic society created by the connections between Lawson's nationwide network and each local community. The store also incorporates many sustainable building materials, such as wood and single-wall pipes, in anticipation of future use after the Expo ends. Furthermore, the store's unique concept design incorporates Lawson's roots, which began in 1975, such as the logo and milk cans of the first store, conveying its unique identity and communicating its essential value as a "community hot station" that lives alongside the community, from the past to the future.

In preparation for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, renovation work has been underway on the Kansai International Airport Terminal 1 building since 2021. As the gateway to Kansai, this project aims to "expand international flight capacity," "enhance the airside area," and "improve passenger experience." Until now, the airport had lounges for each airline, but these have been consolidated into one, providing a larger space through space efficiency. Among these, this project corresponds to Phase 3 of the large-scale renovation, and is an international business lounge with a total area of 2,970 m2 and 658 seats, with the theme of "ancient capitals and cities." The building is divided into two areas with different concepts, "North Side" and "South Side. schematic design was done by Azusa Sekkei, and our company was in charge of interiors (FF&E), working drawings and construction of the facilities, and art supervision.

We have planned a Mie Prefecture booth to be exhibited in the Kansai Pavilion at the 2025 World Expo, Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo). The Mie Prefecture booth is based on the theme of "The Origin of the Japanese Spirit" and has been designed as a space where visitors can experience the charms of the "beautiful country of Mie," including its rich nature, history, diverse culture, and food. It is an experiential booth that allows visitors to experience Mie with all five senses through valuable displays and content that can only be found at the Expo.

The Malaysian Pavilion, exhibited at the 2025 World Expo in Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo), is a space that comprehensively expresses the tradition, diversity, and advanced nature of the multi-ethnic nation of Malaysia, with the theme of "INTERWOVEN - Weaving a Harmonious Future." At the center of the pavilion is the symbolic "Tree of Harmony," about 10 meters tall, whose leaves are hand-woven by artisans from all over Malaysia using sustainable natural materials, and whose trunk is an organic structure made by weaving fast-growing bamboo in a spiral shape. The morphological language of this design is also deployed in displays floor, lighting, and graphics, symbolizing the network that weaves the entire pavilion. As a pavilion where diversity intersects to weave one big story, it has become a place that embodies hope for a harmonious future.

We proposed focusing on the lives and dreams of the people who played an active role at Himeji Castle, allowing visitors to experience the value of the buildings and objects through displays appropriate to the location, such as the main keep armory, the connecting tower, and the decorative tower, and connecting this to a moving experience. Specifically, to convey the appeal of these things, we helped to create scenes of the lives and dreams of the people who played an active role at Himeji Castle, focusing on scene displays and experiential displays that recreate the conditions of the time.

The venerable RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka, which has a history of 90 years since its founding and has been loved by many guests, including state guests and the Imperial family, as the "Guest House of Osaka," has introduced the "Vignette Collection," one of the brands of IHG Hotels & Resorts, and has made its grand opening as the "RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka Vignette Collection" in preparation for the opening of the Osaka-Kansai Expo in April 2025. The hotel has been renovated into a space that will be loved for generations to come, inheriting the hotel's history and identity and incorporating the charm of the beautiful surrounding scenery unique to the city of water. In this renovation, we were responsible for concept design of the entrance, reception, public areas, guest rooms, banquet halls, and gym, as well as working drawings and construction of the guest room area, art, and FF&E.

FOXEY is a one-of-a-kind made-in-Japan brand that has consistently created products based on the concept of "clothes that accentuate the beauty of women" since its founding in 1980. The "FOXEY ADEAM KITTE Osaka Store" opened at KITTE Osaka, a new landmark in Osaka, and was the first street-front store in the Osaka area, for which we were in charge of interiors construction work.

Sorappa, which opened in Gran Green Osaka, is a lounge exclusively for workers, consisting of a dining area, a café that doubles as a workspace, and a terrace. The dining area is an open space with a 7m-high window that overlooks the Umekita Park, making it suitable for groups to use without worrying about others around them. The open space extends from the café to the terrace, and on sunny days you can enjoy a relaxing cafe time while looking at the beautiful view.