{"id":19127,"date":"2024-08-23T11:56:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T01:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=19127"},"modified":"2025-03-18T15:58:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T05:58:13","slug":"inside-world-expos-giant-ring-240m-timber-roof-clicks-into-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/inside-world-expos-giant-ring-240m-timber-roof-clicks-into-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside World Expo&#8217;s Giant Ring: $240m Timber Roof Clicks into Place!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It&#8217;s official. Osaka Kanasa&#8217;s &#8220;Grand Roof&#8221;\u2014one of the world&#8217;s largest wooden structures ever constructed \u2014is fully erected, with the 35 billion yen structure (or US $240 million) delivered one month ahead of schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It comes as three of Japan&#8217;s largest contractors\u2014which includes Obayashi Corp, now responsible for constructing Atlassian Central Tower, the world&#8217;s largest timber hybrid tower, Takenaka Corp, and Shimizu Corp\u2014have been working around the clock to assemble the enormous timber ring, with attention now turning to the elevators, greenery, and eight internal pavilions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"4TgfQOl41Vk\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u4e07\u535a\u3001\u5c4b\u6839\u306e\u8f2a\u3064\u306a\u304c\u308b \u6728\u9020\u5efa\u7bc9\u7269\u3068\u3057\u3066\u306f\u4e16\u754c\u6700\u5927\u7d1a\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4TgfQOl41Vk?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Yesterday, Japanese media celebrated the major milestone on site\u2014footage courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@KyodoNews\">@KyodoNews.<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, the all-timber roof has a 2 km circumference, 20-metre height, and an 8-metre walkway; the 60,000 square metres &#8220;wooden ring&#8221;&nbsp;is the centrepiece of the &#8220;dream island.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The design is meant to evoke a sense of Unity in Diversity,&#8221;&nbsp;according to Mr Fujimoto, who said that the project is the centrepiece of the World Expo 2025 &#8211; the 170th anniversary of the first expo. He wanted &#8220;people to feel that this one sky is connecting all parts of the world, which is full of diversity as is shared by everyone,&#8221; adding that the design showcases &#8220;the future of wooden architecture to the world and Japan.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>&#8220;At 3.30 pm on Wednesday (August 21), the last piece of timber was put into place by crane, signalling the completion of the Ring one month ahead of schedule,&#8221; according to the Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai organisers.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Wood Central understands that the area beneath the roof will serve as a main promenade for the expo site, providing shelter from rain and sunlight during the event, which runs from April 13 to October 13 next year &#8211; with the rooftop of the ring will offer views of the surrounding pavilions of international participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dream or reality? Concerns over Expo\u2019s legacy<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/english.kyodonews.net\/news\/2024\/08\/cb7b3fce561f-circular-wooden-roof-for-2025-world-expo-venue-in-osaka-takes-shape.html#google_vignette\">Dubbed &#8220;the most expensive parasol in the world,&#8221;<\/a> the project has nonetheless been shrouded in controversy &#8211; with construction delays, surging material costs, and labour shortages <a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/dream-or-reality-new-fears-over-world-expo-2025s-viability\/\">resulting in Expo costs spiralling out of control (to more than US $1.5 billion).<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the Expo, the <em>Grand Roof <\/em>\u2014which may or may not be partly recycled\u2014was slated to become a resort island hosting Japan\u2019s first casino\u2014a project now expected to be delayed until at least 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wood Central understands that the Expo costs are shared by the Japanese national government, the Osaka prefecture, and the city and business communities. Osaka modelling shows that city residents will bear the heaviest tax burden\u2014about US $125 per person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The roof itself is supported by the traditional \u2018nuke\u2019 technique of joining horizontal beams and vertical pillars, which was also used for the famed wooden stage at Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image003-6-1024x576.jpg.webp\" alt=\"image003 6 1024x576.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-20079\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image003-6-1024x576.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image003-6-1024x576.jpg-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image003-6-1024x576.jpg-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image003-6-1024x576.jpg-696x392.webp 696w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image003-6-1024x576.jpg-747x420.webp 747w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image003-6-1024x576.jpg-640x360.webp 640w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image003-6-1024x576.jpg-600x338.webp 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With Expo 2025 less than six months away, organisers still face many issues, including a construction logjam. (Image Credit: Yo Inoue Nikkei montage).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Work is now starting on the surrounding pavilions<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, attention is turning to the &#8220;Forest of Tranquility&#8221;, the eight Signature Pavilions, and hundreds of country-specific pavilions, most made out of Japanese wood, which will sit inside the giant wooden ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last month, Wood Central spoke exclusively to Yuichi Shinohara, CEO and President of Shinohara Shoten, responsible for erecting the Austrian pavilion on site starting in February 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Featuring an impressive musical score, Graf Holztechnik in Austria is crafting the 12-metre-high mass timber structure. Despite its delicate aesthetics, it is fully wind-resistant and boasts high performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"851\" height=\"792\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot_16-7-2024_165952_www.instagram.com_.jpeg\" alt=\"Screenshot 16 7 2024 165952 www.instagram.com\" class=\"wp-image-19128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot_16-7-2024_165952_www.instagram.com_.jpeg 851w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot_16-7-2024_165952_www.instagram.com_-300x279.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot_16-7-2024_165952_www.instagram.com_-768x715.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot_16-7-2024_165952_www.instagram.com_-696x648.jpeg 696w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot_16-7-2024_165952_www.instagram.com_-451x420.jpeg 451w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot_16-7-2024_165952_www.instagram.com_-600x558.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 851px) 100vw, 851px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Austria is preparing for the World Expo, which will take place in Osaka (Japan) from April to October 2025, with its all-timber pavilion made from mass timber imported from Austria. The pavilion will be shipped to Japan later this year and assembled on-site by Shinohara Shoten in February 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Strong winds are expected at the exposed location of the Expo site,&#8221; according to Alf Netek, project manager of the Expo office of the Austrian Economic Chamber, who said the installation will withstand wind speeds of up to 200 km\/h\u2014designed by Vienna architecture firm BWM, led by architect Johann Moser and Univ.-Prof. Peter Bauer from the structural engineering firm Werkraum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Japan is one of the world&#8217;s largest consumers of timber &#8211; fueling a wave of new timber projects<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>As one of Japan&#8217;s largest timber fabricators &#8211; and one of the few to provide a one-stop-shop for mass timber construction from design, manufacturing and assembly, Mr Shinohara is at the forefront of the new mid-rise timber wave sweeping Japanese cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We supply timber to more than 4,000 timber buildings every year,&#8221; Mr Shinohara told Wood Central, &#8220;with about 80% of that into the residential market and a (growing) 20% into the mass timber non-residential market.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As it stands, Japan is the world&#8217;s fourth-largest importer of timber products, with the world&#8217;s third-largest economy importing more than 3,340,000 cubic metres of lumber last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We are (now) a cheap country, with a proven record at delivering solutions at scale,&#8221; according to Mr Shinohara, who added that low prices for Japanese cypress (Hinoki) and Northern Japanese hemlock are helping to drive an uptake in domestic projects across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Inside Japan&#039;s Tall Timber Boom? What Can the Rest of the World Learn?\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xQzuZ2MyypI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wood Central&#8217;s exclusive interview with Yuichi Shinohara, CEO and President of Shinohara Shoten. Footage courtesy of @woodcentralau1.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It comes as <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/japans-tree-switch-millions-of-cypress-cut-for-planets-health\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Japan is now cutting millions of cypress trees<\/a><\/em>,&nbsp;<em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/japans-building-reforms-drive-high-value-timber-production\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">changing building standards, and investing in high-value timber production.<\/a><\/em>&nbsp;The upshot is that the Japanese timber industry is booming,&nbsp;with the latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries of Japan <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lesprom.com\/en\/news\/Cypress_and_hemlock_lumber_prices_in_Japan_decrease_in_June_114023\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pointing to a steady reduction in timber prices relative to other materials.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The government is now putting a big emphasis on building out of Japanese domestic species,&#8221; Mr Shinohara said, a big change over the past decade. &#8220;In the past, concrete and steel were used for government buildings, but that has been turned on its head.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, Japan is now experimenting with a range of different timber systems, &#8220;including an 8-storey all-timber building, which did not use any steel or concrete,&#8221; Mr Shinohara told Wood Central, as well as &#8220;timber and concrete hybrid systems&#8221;, which opens up a new market in the low-rise, high volume construction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s official. Osaka Kanasa&#8217;s &#8220;Grand Roof&#8221;\u2014one of the world&#8217;s largest wooden structures ever constructed \u2014is fully erected, with the 35 billion yen structure (or US $240 million) delivered one month ahead of schedule. It comes as three of Japan&#8217;s largest contractors\u2014which includes Obayashi Corp, now responsible for constructing Atlassian Central Tower, the world&#8217;s largest timber [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[3,38,52,37,35,47,41,32,46,39,68,40],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[70],"class_list":{"0":"post-19127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-architecture","8":"category-architecture-and-design","9":"category-asia","10":"category-building-and-construction","11":"category-case-studies","12":"category-commercial","13":"category-exterior-wood-products","14":"category-global-news","15":"category-industry","16":"category-mass-timber","17":"category-sector","18":"category-wood-products"},"authors":[{"term_id":70,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"jason","display_name":"Jason Ross","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/J-Ross-headshot.jpeg","url2x":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/J-Ross-headshot.jpeg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19127"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22618,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19127\/revisions\/22618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19127"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=19127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}