Decisions in this competition changed several times - at first, according to the regulations, three prizes were planned to be awarded, on the day the results were announced it turned out that no winner had been selected, and five equal prizes were awarded. Finally, after consultations with experts, we know who will design the Polish Pavilion at the EXPO 2025 World Exhibition in Osaka.
On November 4, 2022, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, in cooperation with the Association of Polish Architects, announced a one-stage competition conducted under the Flemish formula to develop an architectural concept for the Polish Pavilion for the upcoming EXPO exhibition in Japan.
According to the guidelines of the competition, the pavilion in Osaka is to present Poland as a country with huge deposits of creativity, having a "creative gene" passed down from generation to generation. The pavilion is to be a counterbalance to the perception of our country mainly through the prism of tragic war experiences, being at the same time a visually attractive, modern object realized with environmentally friendly solutions, using modular systems available on the Japanese market.
Of the dozens of works submitted for the competition, the jury, consisting of: Marek Dunikowski (architect, chairman of the Competition Jury), Marcin Pawlowski (architect, Referee), Tsutomu Nozaki (architect, SARP Competition Judge) and judges from the organizer's side: Oskar Derych, Aleksandra Tomczyk, Marta Szczygieł and Magdalena Skarżyńska qualified five studies for the second stage, awarding each proposal with equal honorable mentions.
The authors of the awarded concepts were designers from studios: ATI Architektura Technika Inwestycje, MFRMGR, Alicja Kubicka and Borja Martinez, Nizio Design International and medusa group (see proposals for the Polish Pavilion at EXPO 2025).
The projects selected at this stage were subjected to consultations with experts in construction, architecture and specialists familiar with the conditions of the Japanese market.
Due to the peculiarities of the site where the Pavilion will be built, the small area of the plot and the seismically active terrain, and thus numerous restrictions, the construction of the Osaka Pavilion will be particularly demanding, explained Marcin Graczyk, Director of the PAIH Partnership and Communications Department.
The Polish Pavilion at the EXPO 2025 World Exhibition in Osaka
© Alicja Kubicka, Borja Martinez | organizers' archives
The result of the collected recommendations was the decision to select for further discussions the proposal developed by the previously awarded duo of architects Alicja Kubicka and Borja Martinez, which, in PAIH's opinion, best fit the slogan of the Polish Pavilion at EXPO 2025 - "Poland. Heritage that drives the future."
The design reflects the slogan of Poland's presence through its original architecture with an eye-catching, expressive facade, built using the traditional Japanese technique of wood joining. I am convinced that cooperation with the authors of the concept will result in the development of an innovative and visually attractive Pavilion that will represent Poland in Osaka with dignity," explained Minister Grzegorz Piechowiak, Commissioner General of the Polish Section of the World Exhibition EXPO 2025.
The Polish Pavilion at the World Exhibition EXPO 2025 in Osaka
© Alicja Kubicka, Borja Martinez | organizers' archives
The design by Alicja Kubicka and Borja Martinez, designers who gained their professional experience at the Japanese studio Kengo Kuma & Associates, was inspired by the geometry of the spiral, which determined the distribution of the wooden structure. Referring to the sub-theme of EXPO 2025 ("Saving Life"), the architects sought in their concept to respond to the five challenges (food, energy, nature, carbon emissions, culture) that we as humanity collectively must face.
The concept responds very well to the difficult conditions arising from the location of the plot and the entire EXPO site," adds Eliza Klonowska-Siwak, Deputy Commissioner of the Polish Section of the World Expo EXPO 2025, "Structural calculations show that due to the internal stability of the curved walls, which give rigidity in all directions, the design behaves perfectly in the face of wind loads and earthquakes.
EXPO 2025 in Osaka, under the theme "Designing the Future Society for Our Lives," will begin on April 13, 2025 and run through October 13, 2025.
