Osaka

A bold circle drawn across sea and sky, the Grand Ring is the signature of Expo 2025 Osaka—and the world’s largest wooden architectural structure. More than a landmark, it’s a living showcase of what Japanese softwoods can achieve at scale. Recognised by Guinness World Records in March 2025, the Ring’s vast timber roof covers over 61,000 m², welcoming millions beneath a continuous, sheltered promenade.

Designed by Sou Fujimoto, the Ring spans roughly 2 kilometres in circumference and rises 20 metres, with a public walkway threading through the canopy for panoramic views across the site. Its form takes cues from temple carpentry—intricate interlocking joinery updated with modern engineering—creating a structure that feels both timeless and new.

At its heart is wood: a carefully orchestrated medley led by Japanese sugi (cedar) and hinoki (cypress). Chosen for their strength-to-weight performance, stability and natural beauty, these species give the Ring its warm grain, subtle fragrance and enduring calm. They’re also a carbon-storing, renewable resource—proof that high-performance building can be deeply sustainable.

Where necessary, the sugi and hinoki is complemented by engineered components and selective imports to meet the project’s scale and seismic requirements. The result is a record-breaking glulam composition that blends craft, innovation and circular thinking.

For architects and builders, the Grand Ring is a compelling precedent: Japanese cedar and cypress delivering warmth, resilience and low-carbon performance on a truly civic stage. For Pentarch’s Sugi and Hinoki collections, it’s an inspiration—evidence that these timbers are as suited to human-scaled interiors as they are to city-defining architecture.