丨日本大阪丨MORF Inc.

Architects:MORF Inc.

Area:584m²

Year:2025

Photographs:Susumu Matsui,Forward stroke Inc,MORF

Manufacturers:Color Kinetics,C.I. TAKIRON,Koizumi Lighting,NICHIHA,NS Hi-Parts Co., Ltd.

Structural Design:Ando Imagineering Group (AIG)

Structure Contractor:NS Hi-Parts Co., Ltd.

Landscape Design:1moku Landscape Design & Research

Category:Pavilion

Project Director:Karim Chahal

Principal Architect:Ko Oono

Chief Architect:Masaki Suzuki

Project Architects:Won Sungmin, Gen Kurokawa

Associate Architect:AA-Design Community

General Contractor :Sakane Sangyou Inc.

City:Osaka

Country:Japan

"MANY YEARS LATER, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice." — G. García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (translated by Gregory Rabassa).

In One Hundred Years of Solitude, the Colombian Nobel Prize-winning author G. García Márquez vividly captures, through his magic realism, the moment a boy witnesses ice for the first time in the mythical town of Macondo. Drawing inspiration from this poignant scene, the Colombian Pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai Expo embraces the concept of ICE CUBE, featuring a façade design composed of numerous translucent cubes set in various directions, to convey a sense of movement and articulation. At first, the façade presents the visitors with an unlikely association between the country of Colombia and Ice Cubes, only for this connection to unravel as the visitors venture through the pavilion.

The façade ice cubes are constructed from semi-transparent polycarbonate panels and illuminated with lights that can be color-controlled, allowing the façade to take on different expressions throughout the day and night. This dynamic lighting will captivate visitors' attention, serving as a platform to showcase Colombian culture during the Expo. Inside the pavilion, visitors can savor Colombian coffee, a national specialty, at a bar counter located in the entrance hall.

Given the temporary nature of Expo pavilions, the design focused on a short construction period, low cost, and recyclable materials. The main structure was built using a prefabricated light steel frame system, sitting on a floating foundation to mitigate the limitations of the soil conditions on site.

The simple, spacious structure of the light steel frame system allows for flexibility in accommodating various exhibitions, while part of the dug-out space for the floating foundation is efficiently utilized as a mezzanine floor for back-of-house areas. Combining the story-driven façade design with a practical, environmentally sustainable main building, the Colombia Pavilion stands as a fitting and striking presence at the Expo—a place where different cultures converge.

At the same time, the decision to utilize a modular prefabricated light steel structure was driven not only by the need to accelerate construction but also by a vision for the pavilion's life beyond the temporary Expo event. Its distinctive structural design ensures adaptability, enabling a seamless transition to a more permanent setting beyond the Expo grounds. Discussions are already underway to define the next chapter of its journey.

In terms of Exhibition Design, the Pavilion offers an experience of "Colombia, the Country of Beauty" through the lens of Magical Realism. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, a landmark of Latin American literature and a Nobel Prize-winning work by Gabriel García Márquez, the Yellow Butterfly appears as a symbol that bridges reality and fantasy. Inspired by this, the Yellow Butterfly has been chosen as the symbolic guide of the Colombia Pavilion throughout its immersive exhibition spaces.

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