An open architectural competition will be held for the design of the pavilion for Expo 2025

Prague - An open architectural competition will be held for the design of the Czech pavilion for the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Today, Czech Republic's general commissioner for the exhibition, Ondřej Soška, informed journalists about its announcement. Applicants will be able to submit their proposals until March 1 of next year, after which a professional committee will meet in Prague to select the three best designs.

The chairman of the Czech Chamber of Architects, Jan Kasl, stated that this is the first open competition for a pavilion design in over 20 years. The last time was prior to the exhibition in Hanover, which took place in 2000.

The proposals will be evaluated by a jury composed of experts from various fields. It includes architect and designer Eva Jiřičná, partner at Kengo Kuma and Associates, Balázs Bognár, Slovak automotive designer Jozef Kabaň, dean of the Faculty of Art and Architecture at the Technical University of Liberec, Osamu Okamura, and chamber chairman Kasl. Soška and Radek Špicar, the vice president of the Confederation of Industry and Transport of the Czech Republic, will also be among the jury members.

The expo will take place between April and October 2025, with its main theme being "creating future societies for our lives." Japan's ambassador to the Czech Republic, Hideo Suzuki, stated that the Czech Republic was among the first nine countries to sign the participation contract for the exhibition.

According to the ambassador, the theme of the exhibition is very relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Humanity is facing various challenges, including climate change, food crises, and population decline in some countries. According to Suzuki, these challenges should be transformed into new opportunities and future growth.

Most of the things prepared for the exhibition will continue to be used to promote the Czech Republic. Similarly, according to Soška, the pavilion as a whole is intended to be disassembled after the exhibition and transported back to the Czech Republic. Soška wants to promote Expo 2025 in the Czech Republic even after the pavilion design is completed, through a roadshow across all regions. The concept will be presented to companies, schools, and the general public.

The expo will return to Osaka after 55 years. At that time, the Czechoslovak pavilion designed by Viktor Rudiš was visited by approximately 11 million people, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The presentation was based on the works of poets Jan Skácel and Jiří Kolář. The exhibition was guided by the twenty-two-meter glass River of Life by Jaroslava Brychtová and Stanislav Libenský.

Soška aims to build on that in 2025. The River of Life will serve as a metaphorical path through the pavilion, branching out into various corners designed for different target groups, from the youngest children to seniors. A work by Alphonse Mucha will also be presented, which, according to Soška, has inspired Japanese manga comics. The Japanese side has previously allocated land for the national pavilion to the Czech Republic, located on the seaside promenade. This is the space that the Czech Republic preferred.

The government confirmed participation in the exhibition and the concept with which the Czech Republic will present itself at the end of June. The budget for the Czech participation is to be 290.2 million crowns for the years 2023 to 2026, with an additional 170 to 220 million coming from external sources.