Osaka Expo 'Grand Ring' a symbol of unity – architect

ITS creator says that a towering wooden «Grand Ring» built for Expo 2025 in Osaka pays homage to Japan's architectural history and is a symbol of unity despite criticism over costs. The 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) circumference of Sou Fujimoto's striking structure will surround dozens of national pavilions at the six-monthlong event from April.

World Expo, held every five years in different locations, allows participating countries to show off their technological and cultural strengths. Organizers have struggled to rouse enthusiasm for the 2025 event, facing slow ticket sales and public concern over the ballooning construction budget.

But Fujimoto, one of Japan's top architects, told AFP there is a deeper value to the 34.4 billion yen ($220 million) Grand Ring than just its price tag. The Expo is a «really beautiful, precious opportunity where so many different cultures… and countries come together in one place to create diversity and unity,» the 53-year-old said under the Ring's imposing latticed beams.

Such an event facilitates international exchange, even as conflicts rage in Ukraine, Gaza, and elsewhere. To illustrate this concept: «the simplest shape is a circle.»

Traditional techniques for joining wooden pillars inspired by the famous raised platform at Kiyomizu Temple in nearby Kyoto were used to construct the Grand Ring. So the Expo is also a «wonderful occasion to show that Japan has a long history» of wooden buildings, Fujimoto said.

Japanese cedar and hinoki wood, as well as stronger European red cedar, were reinforced with metal to make them quake-resistant. The wooden beams hold up a sloping roof, 20 meters (65 feet) tall at its highest point, to protect visitors from the elements as they wander through at ground level. The roof doubles as a «skywalk» with views of the surrounding area.

Beyond your imagination

Despite that, only 7.4 million tickets had been sold by December — half the organizers' target. Inflation and labor shortages have, meanwhile, driven the total construction budget up 27 percent from 2020 estimates to hit 235 billion yen ($1.5 billion).

Fujimoto has argued that the budget increase was partly because of rising prices linked