by Alexandra Mansilla
Winds, Courtyards, And Stories: Inside the Saudi Pavilion At Expo 2025
28 May 2025
From April 13 to October 13, Osaka, Japan, is hosting Expo 2025 — a global event bringing together 158 countries under the theme "Designing Future Society for Our Lives." And among the standout participants is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Just yesterday, exciting news broke: Saudi Arabia’s Pavilion was awarded the Gold Prize for Cultural Architecture in the Interactive and Experiential Spaces category at the New York Architectural Design Awards. So, what makes this pavilion so special?
The pavilion, designed by UK-based architecture firm Foster + Partners in collaboration with design agency Journey, was shaped using computational fluid dynamics simulations — basically, they modelled how air moves through the space. Why? To catch the cool winds coming from the west during Japan’s hot summer. In April and October, when it gets chillier, the landscaped forecourt blocks the harsher winds from the north.
Visitors enter through this green forecourt, filled with plants native to Saudi Arabia, and walk through a series of winding paths that lead to the heart of it all — the Saudi Courtyard. It is both the emotional centre and the main gathering space. A gently ramped entrance follows the site’s natural slope, ensuring equal access for all.
The Courtyard includes a sliding stage that transforms every evening for live shows and performances.
So, by day, it is quiet, peaceful — a place to pause.
And by night, it turns into something else entirely.
From there, you can wander through a little "village" of winding streets, with doors and windows opening into immersive rooms. Each one tells a story about the Saudi Arabia of today, yesterday, and what’s coming next.
The pavilion sits on the edge of the water at Osaka’s Yumeshima site, and the whole experience is built to feel like a walk through the textures, rhythms, and spirit of Saudi cities.
And yes — it is sustainable. Built under the Saudi Green Initiative, the pavilion uses low-carbon materials, solar panels, energy-saving lights — all of it. It’s on track to meet Japan’s highest green building rating (CASBEE S) and is the first temporary building to get the WELL Health and Safety Rating. Throughout the Expo, it will run at net-zero carbon.
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