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ACTUAL, NEWS 10.03.2025

Coldefy + CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati Design France Pavilion at the Osaka World Expo 2025

#france #pavillion #expo 2025 #coldefy #cra - carlo ratti associati

French architecture studio Coldefy has teamed up with Italian design and innovation practice CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati to develop the France Pavilion at the Osaka World Expo 2025 (13 April – 13 October 2025).

The team’s winning competition entry, which explores the idea that architecture is a stage for human life and a setting for relationships of all kinds, was originally unveiled in January 2024. A copper-clad staircase weaves up through the interior and serves as an observation balcony, inviting the visitor on a journey through the Pavilion’s interior. Forming part of the building’s façade, the staircase creates a dialogue between the inside of the Pavilion and the plaza outside, providing a sense of welcome and openness.

Thomas Coldefy & Isabel Van Haute © Vincent Desailly
Carlo Ratti

The 3,600 square metre Pavilion, which is situated in a prominent location close to one of the Expo’s main entrances, is illuminated by a series of suspended transparent acrylic rods. Fabric curtains of a height of 17 metres are suspended down two sides, expressing the idea that the building is a ‘theatre of life’ brought to life by the activity of the visitors moving through it.

Thomas Coldefy, founding partner of Coldefy said: “The France Pavilion invites visitors to enter the theatre of life. Both actors and spectators in this production, visitors traverse a path through the Pavilion that is an expression of the symbiosis between humanity and its environment. Above all, the design seeks to create a welcoming space that is open and accessible to all.”

Carlo Ratti, founding partner of CRA and Curator of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (2025) added: “As we attempt to address the changing role of expos today, we must seek new ways to imagine the relationship between the natural and artificial, combining different forms of intelligence, whether organic or technological, to redefine connections between people and their environments.”

Project Team
Client: COFREX
Architects: Coldefy + CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati
Local architects and engineers: Yasui Sekkei
General contractor: Rimond

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