Bringing philosophy to life
The Dynamic Equilibrium of Life Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Japan
At Expo 2025 Osaka, the Dynamic Equilibrium of Life Pavilion expresses the philosophy of renowned biologist Dr Shinichi Fukuoka through its striking architectural form. Named Embryo, the pavilion symbolises the early stages of life and the moment when life starts to take shape. Its pillar-less and freestanding structure appears to gently descend to the earth, resembling a delicate membrane that nurtures and protects emerging life.
Arup provided cutting-edge structural and MEP engineering services for this innovative pavilion, balancing visual elegance with robust stability. Its self-supporting steel ring and tension membrane roof create a spacious, column-free exhibition space. Using advanced computational design and digital tools, we achieved exceptional precision and efficiency. The lightweight, demountable structure minimises material use, championing circular economy principles for sustainable, high-performance engineering.
By integrating structural engineering with creative vision and conceptual depth, the pavilion exemplifies how structures can express meaning beyond mere function. It sets a new benchmark by converging digital design, sustainability and innovative structural thinking to inspire groundbreaking architecture.
the Dynamic Equilibrium of Life Pavilion expresses the philosophy of renowned biologist Dr Shinichi Fukuoka through its striking architectural form. © Masao Nishikawa
Breathing life into architecture
At the heart of the pavilion is a self-equilibrating structure — a delicate steel ring supporting a tensile membrane roof through precisely controlled tension forces. This system enables seemingly fragile components to stabilise each other, maintaining a dynamic equilibrium even in the face of external forces such as wind or seismic activity.
What makes the pavilion unique is the juxtaposition of its visual lightness against the sophisticated structural rationale that underlies it. The steel ring appears to be float, yet is meticulously tensioned against the membrane roof, with each component supporting and strengthening the other. Rather than being rigid, the structure adapts gracefully to environmental shifts while upholding its overall stability — a brilliant architectural manifestation of Dr Fukuoka’s philosophy of dynamic equilibrium in living systems.
At the heart of the pavilion is a self-equilibrating structure — a delicate steel ring supporting a tensile membrane roof through precisely controlled tension forces. © Masaki Ogawa
The pavilion's self-supporting steel ring and tension membrane roof create a spacious, column-free exhibition space. © Keigo Nishio
Unlocking new possibilities with digital tools
Realising this intricate balance required overcoming complex engineering challenges. We harnessed advanced digital tools and computational design methods to explore, analyse and refine the design. Automated iterations of structural analyses empowered the team to swiftly navigate diverse shape iterations, pinpointing the optimal geometry that harmonises architectural ambition and structural prerequisites. This digital workflow expedited the design process while ensuring a level of precision unattainable through conventional methods.
Embracing circular economy principles
In addition to pushing the boundaries of structural form, the project aligns closely with sustainable design principles. The pavilion minimises material consumption through its lightweight design, with the structural components strategically earmarked for post-expo disassembly and repurposing. This approach significantly reduces environmental impact and demonstrates how engineering innovation can contribute to circular economy principles in the built environment.
Top image: © Masao Nishikawa
Named Embryo, the pavilion symbolises the early stages of life and the moment when life starts to take shape. © Masaki Ogawa
The pavilion minimises material consumption through its lightweight design, with the structural components strategically earmarked for post-expo disassembly and repurposing. © Masaki Ogawa
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