CULTURE

RAU Architects設計の〈オランダパビリオン〉

［大阪・関西万博］海外パビリオン紹介

CULTURE 2025.05.19

パビリオンDATA

設計
RAU Architects

エリア
セービングゾーン

テーマ
コモングラウンド‐新たな幕開け‐

オランダパビリオンの見どころポイント！

デジタル・マテリアル・パスポートを活用した循環型パビリオン
エネルギー転換など、世界的な課題に取り組むための協力の重要性を強調
パビリオンの中央に浮かび輝く球体「人工の太陽」

（以下、RAU Architectsから提供されたプレスキットのテキストの抄訳）

〈オランダパビリオン〉は、「コモングラウンド（Common Ground）」をテーマに、サーキュラーエコノミーの原則に基づいて建設されたパビリオンである。このパビリオンは、エネルギー転換の加速や地球の住みやすい環境の維持など、世界が直面する大きな課題に取り組むための国際協力の重要性を強調している。

また、万博開催期間である6カ月間にわたり、〈オランダパビリオン〉ではオランダの企業、研究機関、団体が日本とのつながりを構築し、パートナーシップを構築・強化する機会となる、幅広いプログラムも開催される。

世界の課題に立ち向かうため、協力を呼びかける「コモングラウンド」

パビリオンのテーマは、オランダと水とのユニークな関係から着想を得ている。オランダの大部分は海面下にあるため、協力は常に不可欠であった。この協力の精神は国際的にも広がり、特に何世紀にもわたる貿易と交流のある日本との協力関係に表れている。

事実、オランダは長い間、鎖国していた日本と貿易を行うことを許可された唯一の西洋諸国であった。この歴史的な絆が、「コモングラウンド」というテーマの基盤を形成している。

コモングラウンド（Common Ground）：「違いを超えて人と人がつながれる共通の場所や価値観」を表す言葉

RAU Architectsの創設者トーマス・ラウ（Thomas Rau）は次のように語る。

「人類の存在が直面する緊急の課題は、ますます『コモングラウンド』における国際協力を必要としている。私たちは地球に招かれたゲストであるという認識が、〈オランダパビリオン〉におけるコモングラウンドの土台となっている。」

「この考え方の転換は、すべてのものには限りがあり、それらを利用し続けるために維持しなければならない、という認識につながる。私たちはこれを「サーキュラーエコノミー」と呼んでいる。」

イノベーションとコラボレーションを紹介する循環型パビリオン

大阪・関西万博の〈オランダパビリオン〉は、建築事務所 RAU Architects、エンジニアリングコンサルタント企業 DGMR、デザインスタジオ Tellart、日本の建設企業淺沼組からなる日蘭のコンソーシアム「AND BV」によって設計、建設された。

長方形の建築であるこのパビリオンの中央には輝く球体が浮かんでおり、これは水力発電を基盤としたクリーンで無限のエネルギーを象徴する「人工の太陽」の印象的なシンボルである。

外壁には、流れる水の動きを連想させる波打つスラットが施されている。これらのスラットは合計425mに及ぶ長さとなっており、オランダと日本の425年に及ぶ貿易関係を象徴している。

パビリオンは循環型建築の優れた例でもある。使用されるすべての材料は、循環型建築とインフラのためのデジタル・マテリアル・パスポート「Madaster」に登録されている。

これにより、使用される材料の完全な透明性が確保され、貴重な資源の損失が防がれる。万博終了後、パビリオンは慎重に解体され、新たな場所で再建され、第2の命を吹き込まれる。

インタラクティブな訪問者体験

パビリオンに入場すると、訪問者は小さな光る球体を受け取る。この球体は、空間に配置されたインスタレーションと相互作用し、オランダと日本の共有の歴史や、オランダの水との戦いについて案内する。

訪問者にとっての最大の注目ポイントは、中央の光る球体で体験できる世界初のAI生成360度ドーム映画である。最後に、訪問者はインタラクティブなアート作品を通じて、自身の夢や未来のアイデアを共有することができる。

Trailer video Netherlands Pavilion © Tellart

以下、RAU Architectsのリリース（英文）です。

Expo 2025 Osaka kicks off with Netherlands pavilion

On the 22nd of April Prime Minister Schoof will officially open the Netherlands pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka during his visit to Japan. The Netherlands participates with a pavilion built entirely using circular principles and presented under the theme “Common Ground.” The pavilion highlights the importance of international collaboration to tackle major global challenges such as accelerating the energy transition and keeping our planet livable. For six months, the Netherlands pavilion will also host an extensive program, offering Dutch businesses, research institutions, and organizations the opportunity to connect with Japan and build or strengthen partnerships.

Key Highlights:

1. Opening and Theme: The Netherlands will open its circular pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka under the theme “Common Ground.”
2. International Collaboration: The pavilion emphasizes the importance of working together to tackle global challenges such as the energy transition.
3. Interactive Visitor Experience: Visitors will receive a glowing sphere that interacts with various installations, including an AI-generated dome film.

Common Ground

The pavilion’s theme is inspired by the country’s unique relationship with water. With large parts of the Netherlands lying below sea level, cooperation has always been essential. This spirit of collaboration extends internationally—particularly with Japan, with whom the Netherlands has shared centuries of trade and exchange. In fact, for a long period, the Netherlands was the only Western country allowed to trade with Japan. This historical bond shaped the theme “Common Ground.”

“The urgent challenges to humanity’s existence increasingly call for international cooperation on ‘common ground’. The awareness that we are guests on Earth forms the foundation for this common ground in the Netherlands Pavilion. This shift in mindset leads, among other things, to the realization that everything is finite and that we must keep the infinite available. We call this: the circular economy.” Thomas Rau, founder RAU Architects.

A circular pavilion showcasing innovation and collaboration

The Netherlands pavilion at Expo 2025 has been designed and built by the Dutch-Japanese consortium AND BV, which includes architecture firm RAU Architects, engineering consultancy DGMR, design studio Tellart, and Japanese construction company Asanuma Corporation.

The pavilion is a rectangular structure with a glowing sphere at its center—an impressive symbol of a “man-made sun,” representing clean, limitless energy based on hydropower. Its facade is adorned with undulating slats that evoke the movement of flowing water. Together, these slats span exactly 425 meters, a tribute to 425 years of trade relations between the Netherlands and Japan.

The pavilion is also a strong example of circular building. All materials used are registered in Madaster, the digital materials passport for circular construction and infrastructure. This ensures full transparency of the materials used and prevents the loss of valuable resources. After the Expo, the pavilion will be carefully dismantled and rebuilt at a new location, ready for a second life.

An interactive visitor experience

Upon entering the pavilion, visitors receive a small glowing orb that interacts with the installations placed throughout the space. These installations guide them through the shared history of the Netherlands and Japan, as well as the Dutch battle against water. The highlight of the visit is the central glowing sphere, where guests can experience the world’s first AI-generated 360-degree dome film. Finally, visitors are invited to share their own dreams and ideas for the future through an interactive art piece.

Visit us

The Netherlands Pavilion is open to all visitors of Expo 2025 Osaka, from April 13 to October 13, 2025, at the Yumeshima site. The event is expected to attract over 28 million visitors with participation from around 160 countries and organizations. To find more about all experience in the pavilion, check our Press Kit document.

Over RAU
https://anewdawn.rau.eu
RAU Architects is an Amsterdam-based architecture firm founded in 1992 by Thomas Rau, internationally recognised for its pioneering role in circular and sustainable design. With a deep commitment to the long-term interests of Earth and its inhabitants, RAU creates buildings that serve as active participants in a circular economy—remountable, energy-positive, and carbon-negative structures that act as material banks for future generations.

RAU’s work is grounded in a fundamental awareness: as humans, we are guests on Earth, a closed system with finite resources. This awareness drives a radically different approach to architecture—prioritising necessity over feasibility and strategy over aesthetics. Every project is designed with its whole life cycle in mind, from construction to maintenance, dismantling, and reuse.

Working with public and private clients, RAU applies an integrated design methodology and actively contributes to the transition from linear to circular systems. Through its work, the firm demonstrates how architecture can become a catalyst for systemic change and a more circular, responsible future.

Over Tellart
https://www.tellart.com
Tellart creates spatial, interactive and multisensory experiences that transform how people understand our world and imagine the future. We work at the intersection of nature, culture, and technology.

Our design philosophy is life centric—not just in service of humans, but of all living things. Our goal is to create empathy between people, nature and even machines—because we have much to learn from these other intelligences and because our futures are intertwined. Some of what matters most may be too small, too big, too distant, too hidden, too far in the past or future for people to perceive and understand. Words and pictures are not enough. The urgency of communicating well—and our potential to do so with immersive means—have never been greater than they are now.

Often hired for “impossible” projects, we’ve spent 25 years working with courageous clients to stretch their ambitions. We practice continual hands-on experimentation with emerging technologies, to explore the outermost edges of what is “newly possible”.

Over DGMR
https://dgmr.nl
DGMR is a consultancy and engineering firm delivering innovative, sustainable solutions. With a team of 260 dedicated professionals, DGMR tackles complex challenges in the built and natural environment. Their advisors think beyond the brief, turning ambitious ideas into practical results that promote safe, healthy, and future-proof living and working environments.

In a world of constant change, DGMR is pushing boundaries through creativity, quality, and innovation. Their curiosity-driven approach helps clients navigate complex construction and environmental issues with clarity and confidence.

Clients value DGMR as a reliable knowledge partner, critical thinker, and expert advisor. Whether acting as a sounding board or a challenger, DGMR brings a pragmatic mindset to every project by delivering sustainable impact and long-term value.

Over Asanuma Corporation
https://www.asanuma.co.jp/e/
Founded in 1892 in Nara Prefecture in Japan, Asanuma Corporation has been guided by the principles of “Spirit of Harmony” and “Sincerity, Enthusiasm and Creativity” and the belief of that “Good work leads to more work.” Specializing in construction and civil engineering, Asanuma Corporation has undertaken a wide range of projects. Its business extends beyond Japan to Singapore, Thailand, and Guam. Leveraging the diverse technologies cultivated over approximately 130 years since its founding, Asanuma Corporation has launched the “GOOD CYCLE PROJECT,” focusing on environmental sustainability and human health under the theme “Creating a positive cycle for both people and the planet.” The company is also committed to enhancing the value of buildings through its renewal business, branded as “ReQuality.” Through these initiatives, Asanuma Corporation aims to be a company that creates a better future for the global environment and society.

RAU Architects 公式サイト
https://www.rau.eu/portfolio/nl-paviljoen-world-expo-2025-osaka/

『TECTURE MAG』大阪・関西万博ニュース＆特集一覧
https://mag.tecture.jp/tag/expo2025/

RAU Architects設計の〈オランダパビリオン〉