OSAKA WORLD EXPO

Location : Osaka, Dutch pavilion

Client : Dutch Pavilion x Nieuwe Instituut

Status : Exhibition, Concours d’architecture de l’Académie des Beaux-Arts, 2023

Photograph : Nieuwe Instituut

Currator : Nieuwe Instituut x Studio The Future

Furniture producer : Legnatec, JP

The overall concept for the scenographic elements (exhibition furniture) reconsiders the potential of leftover and offcut Japanese hinoki wood. Reflecting the artisanship of Japanese carpentry and wooden joinery techniques, the furniture set explores the assembly of smaller pieces along their length using splicing joints. By following a repetitive process while introducing variations in joint types, the design achieves both uniqueness and modularity. A stool leg, for instance, turns leftover wood into a beautiful interlocking puzzle. This approach allows for variations in colour, texture, wood type and joint styles, creating endless and cost-effective diversity within the same object and process. From stools and benches to vertical shelves and folding screens, the pieces follow a basic principle of a panel clipped onto legs, allowing for effortless construction and easy disassembly.

The elements are designed to meet the specific requirements of the presentations, which will be installed and dismantled every weekend and stored during the week. Consequently, they are flexible, storable, adaptable and durable.