Just as it’s impossible to see everything at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan in one day, it’s hard to highlight outstanding experiential and engagement design in one story (see our Part One report on the pavilions). The World Expo runs through October, if you decide to hop on a flight, but in the meantime, here’s some more inspiration from Osaka.
China
One of the largest pavilions at the Expo, the China pavilion feels monumental in everything from architecture to sprawling design elements, but it also strikes a delicate balance between cultural heritage and modern innovation. The facade is inspired by traditional Chinese scrolls, featuring poems in different calligraphy styles. The journey starts in line, where visitors watch a video about what’s inside by scanning a QR code. The narrative encompasses multiple aspects, ranging from technological achievements to lunar soil samples and humanoid robots.
Our favorite touchpoints included large, atmospheric projection elements, 3D interactive displays over historical artifacts that allow attendees to learn more about them through interaction (if you’ve always longed for this in museums, you know), and semi-circular display pods that enable storytelling at scale. The hallways—a wasted space in some other pavilions—were wrapped with projection mapping and bas-reliefs, blending old and new, and creating a seamless journey.
Qatar
Our first thought about the Qatar pavilion: “Wow, what a beautiful way to dress a cube.” Inspired by traditional sailing ships and Japanese joinery techniques, the structure combines wood and tension fabrics for a dramatic look and functional space, and just like the country it represents, it’s surrounded by water. Inside, the focus is on coastal stories through historic maps and interactive dioramas. Artistic drapery swallows the walls. Henna tattoos add an extra touch of authenticity.
Italy
The line to get into the Italy pavilion snaked well under the Grand Ring, but that time wasn’t wasted—visitors are treated to a delightful performance outside. Renaissance ideals blend with modern innovation in this “Ideal City” that feels as vibrant and multi-layered as the culture it represents. Timber, modular construction reveals a model of the Coliseum, with creative lighting bringing the construction to life. Rare masterpieces by Caravaggio and Tintoretto, along with the original sketches from Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus, await inside. The misty magic of Venice is captured with projection on sheer drapes enveloping the artifacts. The rooftop garden makes for a perfect space to take in the view.
Portugal
Arguably, one of the most thought-provoking spaces we saw, the Portugal pavilion explores the theme of the ocean as central to the country, and life in general, highlighting historical and cultural ties to the sea and urgent messages about marine conservation. The pavilion structure is wrapped in suspended ropes and recycled fishing nets, lifted just enough to create an entrance. In a unique narrative twist, it’s the ocean that does the talking on the wraparound projection screens that anchor the experience, reminding humans, “Since you’ve come into the world, I’ve taken good care of you. But you seem to have forgotten this…”
Image Credits/Portugal: Rimond
Turkmenistan
Striking architecture featuring native motifs, horses and camels, along with a giant screen looping videos makes an impressive visual statement and piques visitors’ interest in a country they may know little about. It’s hard not to get in line to explore what this palace of white and gold has to offer. Inside, the thought process on engagement is more on the traditional museum side than experiential, which in contrast to other pavilions, is a refreshing shift. Photo ops in traditional costumes, including a furry sheepskin hat, make this unique desert culture feel more accessible.
Canada
Ice, ice, baby! And augmented reality at its best. In this space, the narrative flows, following the thawing of the Canadian rivers. When entering, visitors receive a tablet with a handle (no need to download anything on their phones), which serves as a “magic window” into life on ice. When pointed at the large ice sculptures, it reveals meticulously crafted stories, from animal encounters to the bustle of the big cities. Putting the visitors in the driver’s seat of their experience skyrockets the engagement and also organically makes a point about commitment to innovation. It’s the kind of exhibit you want to explore again and again, and visit the country it represents.
Australia
Stepping into the Australia pavilion, themed “Chasing the Sun,” visitors are immediately transported into an infinite, magical forest complete with sounds and animals you’d hope to meet down under. It’s everything you love about immersive. Next, visitors dive into the ocean depths in a space lined with LED shapes of different sizes, creating a layered, multi-dimensional effect, probably without breaking the bank.
The pavilion is constructed predominantly from reusable and repurposed materials, including the modular SuperTruss System originally used at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and achieves an 87 percent reduction in carbon compared to new builds, underscoring the country’s commitment to sustainability. And of course, it was impossible not to take a selfie with an orange kangaroo, because, where else?
Image Credits: Anna Huddleston
Have a story idea? Want us to cover your booth? Reach out to EM’s editor-at-large Anna Huddleston.
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