Lina Ghotmeh’s design for the official National Pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain for Expo 2025 Osaka has been revealed along with details of what she calls a “celebration of the bilateral relations” between the Gulf state and Expo’s host nation.

The Lebanese-born French architect’s follow-up to the 2023 Serpentine Pavilion in London offers a highlight of the Kingdom’s distinct maritime heritage and history as a major regional port of trade. 

What hails as an artful reinterpretation of ancient Bahraini boat-building methods will take shape as a timber structure whose outermost shell is made out of aluminum. Open and porous, the design incorporates natural ventilation methods Its interiors are set to be provided by the award-winning Bahrain-based Shepherd Studio and center around a space dedicated to commerce and promoting the country’s “forward-looking” economy.

The pavilion will be realized within the “Empowering Lives” section of the Sou Fujimoto-designed larger wooden ringed master plan. Organizers are expecting more than 28 million visitors from about 150 different countries will be in attendance during the six-month exhibition. After the fair, the pavilion will be dissembled and reused to further reduce the overall carbon footprint of Ghotmeh's first Expo contribution. 

Expo 2025 Osaka opens on April 13, 2025, and will run through the 13th of October.