Osaka, along with Tokyo and Kyoto, has emerged as Japan’s go-to destination for 2025, with 150,000 visitors flocking to the World Expo every day. Among them are a dozen Australian architects, engineers, and developers – on the WoodSolutions study tour – who lined up ahead of a two-day tour of the expo grounds.
Today, Wood Central spoke to Andrew Dunn, from the Australian Timber Development Association, who said the Expo is perhaps the highlight of a week-long tour, which has so far, included a VIP tour of Tokyo 2021 Olympic Stadium, the Hōryū-ji temple, a special carpentry demonstration and state-of-the-art post-and-beam house factory: “What we are seeing coming out of Japan is incredible,” Dunn said, “none more so than the Grand Ring – the world’s largest wooden structure ever constructed.”
Walking along the ring’s 12-metre high skywalk – all built out of cross-laminated timber – Dunn said the structure combines modern methods of construction (MMC) with traditional Nuki joints – a system that connects pieces togerher without using nails or screws. Measuring 30 metres in width and 675 metres along the outer edge, the Grand Ring is 2km long and uses more than 60,000 square metres of wood in its construction.
About 70% of the ring is made up of Japanese cedar and hinoki wood, which, combined with much stronger European red cedar and reinforced steel, makes the ring fully resistant to earthquakes: “Inside, massive wooden beams hold up the sloped roof, which doubles as the skywalk, protecting thousands of visitors from the weather as they wander through the ground level,” Dunn said. “From the highest point, you can take in the complete circular form of the structure, with pavilions from around the world gathered both inside and outside the ring.”
Dozens of timber pavilions are placed around the ring…
Visiting several pavilions, Dunn said the Expo is a playground for timber engineers and architects. The biggest (made of wood) is the Italian pavilion, a modern interpretation of the Ideal City of the Renaissance. Built from cross-laminated timber and glulam, the pavilion is a “large hangar of knowledge” split into three sections: one for aerospace, another for society, and a third section for humanity —all to be deconstructed and reused, piece by piece, post-expo.
Then there are the Romanian, Polish, Bahrianian, Blue Ocean and Australian pavilions, which, along with the Chinese, Austrian, Uzbekistan and Irish pavilions, all had massive lines.
“Tomorrow, we will get a VIP tour of the Czech Republic pavilion courtesy of Stora Enso,” Dunn said. “The four-storey structure is Japan’s tallest steel-free timber building, and it’s been designed to meet the country’s stringent building standards.” Divided into thirty equal-sized sections, the pavilion’s architect, Michal Gabaš, had to prove in a lab that the wood and fasteners could withstand earthquakes or the force of the wind during a major typhoon: “The structure is one major challenge,” Gabaš said. “Another major challenge is fire protection because the whole building is made of timber. And the third major challenge is Japanese laws and building regulations, which they require us to follow.”
Please note: Wood Central will have exclusive tour coverage all week. Click here for insights from the tour’s first, second and third days. And to learn why Japan is culture built on timber and not stone or bricks, click here for Wood Central’s special feature prior to the tour.
