Osaka Expo pavilion features vibrating mirrored facade

Japanese studio Noiz Architects has unveiled a mirrored pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, with facades that vibrates in the wind.

One of the eight Signature Pavilions at the expo, the building is named Null² in reference to the Buddhist concept of emptiness.

The steel-framed building was covered with metallic membranes that reflect its surroundings, with the aim of evoking a digital landscape in a futuristic physical world.

"From the very beginning of the design process, we considered the significant contrast of today's Expo to the 1970's Expo held in the same city," Noiz Architects co-founder Keiuske Toyoda told Dezeen.

"The value of physically visiting a world expo has become questionable to many during the current internet age," he continued.

"Therefore, we set out to design a building that engages both the real and the digital realms and interact with its environment."

According to Toyoda, the shape of the pavilion was a response to voxels – 3D pixels that are commonly used in video games such as Minecraft to created low-resolution digital landscapes.

The use of a cluster of voxels was designed to encourage the public to engage with the pavilion.

The pavilion was covered in reflective mirrored membranes – a new material developed by Noiz Architects in collaboration with Japanese firm Taiyo Kogyo.

This membrane has a metallic texture and is highly stretch-resistant, allowing it to form flexible curves.

According to the team, the mirrored membranes have solar reflective qualities that improve the insulation of the building.

The mirrored membrane also responds to wind causing it to vibrate as if it's breathing and distort the reflected sky and surroundings with a unique rhythm.

Woofers and robotic arms were installed inside several voxels. By adjusting low-frequency vibrations and robotic movements, the membrane can shift dramatically, creating fluid, wave-like movement on the facade.

"Integrating materials, properties, and dynamic motion, the pavilion aspires to become a living architectural entity, interacting with its environment and people," said Toyoda.

According to the architect, the pavilion was designed to be easily disassembled so that it can be reuse after the expo.

The main exhibition inside the pavilion features 360 digital screens that explore the interaction between the visitors and their digital twins. The programme was produced by researcher and media artist Yoichi Ochiai.

"The architecture of Null² serves to function as an 'interspace', where countless parallel worlds intersect," said Toyoda.

"The pavilion embodies Ochiai's concept of digital nature and the expo's core theme of exploring new relationships between humans and technology – a place where the physical and virtual, humans and avatars, objects and information all intertwine," he added.

Noiz Architects was founded by Toyoda and Jia-Shuan Tsai in 2007, with offices in Tokyo and Taipei.

Elsewhere at Expo 2025 Osaka, Japanese architect Kengo Kuma designed a pavilion informed by sailing boats, while six young Japanese architects designed a series of unique toilets.

The photography is by Daici Ano unless otherwise stated.

Expo 2025 Osaka takes place in Osaka until 13 October 2025. See Dezeen Events Guide for more events taking place around the world.

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