The Theme Pavilion is founded on a simple yet profound idea:
All life is connected—with plants at its center.
Through experiences grounded in the latest scientific research, visitors are invited to explore the relationships linking plants to all forms of life on Earth, including our own.
Yet the experience is not meant to end within the pavilion. We hope that your visit will bring plants closer to your everyday life and inspire small, meaningful actions beyond this space. Each visitor will receive a piece of seed paper—paper embedded with seeds. When planted at home, the seeds will begin to grow.
By sharing photographs of these plants as they sprout and flourish, they will become part of a living artwork connected to the exhibition. In this way, the work continues to evolve together with its participants. Through this shared and evolving experience, we hope to create a new “landscape of tomorrow”—together, beginning here in Yokohama.

The Origin of an ART + TECH Producer

— What does an “ART + TECH Producer” do?

Sugiyama

Simply put, my work is to create experiences that people can only have by visiting a particular place. Art raises new questions through free and imaginative expression. Technology gives form to those ideas through the latest innovations.
By bringing these two together, I call my role an ART + TECH Producer. In a world where efficiency often makes places look increasingly alike, I want to create destinations that people feel compelled to visit—even from afar. My role is to transform spaces themselves into works of art and to generate truly unique experiences.

Photo: Bunsaku Nakagawa

— What inspired you to pursue this career?

Sugiyama

The starting point goes back to my grandfather, who was a painter. As a child, I watched him happily painting in his studio from morning until night, and I thought, what a wonderful profession an artist must be.
I also aspired to become an artist. During my student years, I carried out projects such as projecting videos onto city buildings, using urban space itself as a stage. However, altering public spaces freely is not permitted.
Through those experiences, I came to understand both the challenges of “free expression” and the immense talent required to stand alongside top artists. At that point, I shifted my perspective. I thought: if there are limits to expression, perhaps I should be the one who creates the space where expression can happen. By designing the environment itself, I could provide artists with a vast canvas to fully unleash their creativity. The excitement of filling an empty site with entirely new forms of expression remains the driving force behind my work today.

Photo: Bunsaku Nakagawa

— Which project became a major turning point in your career?

Sugiyama

A challenge that has consistently guided my work is how to liberate artistic expression from the two-dimensional world of screensand bring it into three-dimensional space. Within that trajectory, my experience at theExpo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan,was particularly significant.
I worked alongside film director Naomi Kawase, the producer of the Signature Pavilion “INOCHI no Akashi.” As Chief Planning Director, I helped shape the project.
Expositions are often thought of as places where answers are presented. In our pavilion, however, we did not display objects. Instead, in a space resembling a cinema, one visitor in the venue and another person somewhere in the world would meet for the first time and engage in a ten-minute dialogue through the screen. What unfolded in real time was an uneditable documentary of human interaction.
At first, the participants were often nervous. Yet as they exchanged words, they gradually opened their hearts. The shifting atmosphere was shared by the audience, the speakers, and the staff alike—everyone holding their breath in the same space.
Over the course of the Expo, this program was conducted more than 1,500 times, and many visitors were moved to tears. It reaffirmed something profound: when people encounter real lives and genuine emotions, they are deeply moved. The Expo provided a powerful stage for that realization.

©LESLIE KEE

A New Challenge: GREEN × EXPO 2027

— What kind of exhibition are you aiming to create for GREEN × EXPO 2027?

Sugiyama

The central theme of the pavilion is: “All life is connected — with plants at the center.” We tend to view the world from a human-centered perspective. Yet the real world is sustained by countless other forms of life, particularly plants. Building on what I learned at the Osaka Expo about the power of authentic experiences, this pavilion invites visitors to encounter that interconnectedness through the lens of plants. If this experience encourages visitors to reflect on sustainability, even in small ways, we will have achieved something meaningful.
The exhibition will include immersive spaces that allow visitors to experience the hidden world beneath the soil, as well as visual installations that make the timescale of plants visible through advanced imaging technologies. These are experiences that can only be fully appreciated by being physically present at the venue. For this project, we are also collaborating with the NHK Groupto liberate the traditionally flat medium of television into spatial form. We hope visitors will feel the overwhelming experiential power created when imagery and space merge together.

The post Seeking the Landscapes of Tomorrow first appeared on テーマ館.

At first glance, the Themed Pavilion may appear to take on an unfamiliar form.
Yet within each element resides the quiet logic of nature.
Emerging from a careful reading of the local landscape of Kamiseya, this architecture proposes a new expression of timber construction.
As if entering a great tree, we invite you to move through the space and experience the gentle sensation of being immersed in this place’s natural richness.

The Vision Behind the Design Supervision

— How did you feel when you were invited to take on this role?

Araki:

International expositions offer a rare environment where bold and experimental ideas are welcomed. As someone drawn to new and challenging endeavors, I was genuinely excited when I was approached about this project.
At the heart of this pavilion is the challenge of creating a large-scale timber space using CLT (Cross-Laminated Timber)—an innovative, environmentally conscious material. I felt a strong desire to see the vision drawn in the design fully realized at architectural scale, and I continue to visit the site regularly to follow its progress.

Architectural Intelligence Inspired by Plant Strategies

— What inspired the pavilion’s distinctive form?

Araki:

The design began with the idea of “architecture like a plant”—or even “architecture as a living organism.”
I have long been fascinated by the forms and systems found in nature. As a child, I would spend hours observing forests on my way home from school.
These early experiences, along with insights gained from traditional Kesen carpenters encountered during post-disaster reconstruction projects in Tohoku, became key sources of inspiration.
Their traditional techniques reveal a deep structural logic: beams supporting the roof are arranged so that they gradually become smaller toward the top, reducing weight and increasing stability.
This principle—placing heavier elements below and lighter ones above—ultimately led to a form that echoes the natural structure of a tree: a strong trunk branching upward into increasingly delicate extensions.

Beam Concept
(Lower levels are thicker and longer; upper levels become thinner and shorter)
Illustration for reference only.

— We understand there is also a unique philosophy behind the underground structure.

Araki:

Yes. Even in the foundation—the point where building meets earth—we sought inspiration from plant life.
In conventional construction, foundations often cover the ground entirely with concrete. In this project, however, we minimized the foundation footprint wherever possible, limiting it to areas that would not affect the indoor environment.
This approach not only reduces material use and environmental impact but also allows the soil to remain continuous. By doing so, we aim to echo the underground networks of plants—their roots extending, connecting, and sharing nutrients beneath the surface.
Leaving portions of the ground exposed, without concrete, presented unprecedented challenges. Yet we believe that such careful attention to detail is what ultimately gives rise to truly comfortable and meaningful spaces.

©KENGO KUMA & ASSOCIATES

©KENGO KUMA & ASSOCIATES

Foundation Concept
(Comparison between the full-slab foundation and the strip foundation used in this project)
Illustration for reference only.

— How does this architecture harmonize with the environment of Kamiseya?

Araki:

A tree’s form—its roots, trunk, and branches—is shaped by the specific conditions of the land in which it grows.
This architecture follows the same principle.
By closely reading the site—its topography, prevailing winds, and patterns of light—the form of the pavilion gradually emerged.
For instance, winds at this site often flow from south to north. In response, the first layer of structural columns is arranged like a flowing current, allowing air to pass smoothly through the building.
Additionally, vegetation planted on the southern side creates a cooling effect through evapotranspiration, forming a natural ventilation system.
Design, in this sense, becomes a process of responding to countless environmental factors—much like a tree adapting its form as it grows.

Column Concept
(From south to north, the airflow appears like a flowing river)
Illustration for reference only.

The post Architecture that Breathes with the Landscape first appeared on テーマ館.

At the Themed Pavilion, the photographs of plants you have nurtured from Seed Paper® will come together to form the symbolic Tree of Hope, bringing the exhibition vividly to life.
To grow a plant, to photograph it, and to share its image—each of these simple acts becomes part of a larger collective creation. Your participation is not separate from GREEN×EXPO 2027; it is one of the elements that make the Expo possible.
We invite you to step into this space not only as a visitor, but as a contributor to its unfolding story. Along the way, the unique relationship that develops between you and the plant you nurture may become a small documentary of its own—a personal narrative of growth, care, and discovery.
Together, these countless individual stories will weave into a shared vision: a landscape for tomorrow, created through the pursuit of happiness and a renewed connection with the living world.

A Visual Journey Connecting Two World Expositions

— Could you tell us about your career path and how it led you here?

Uchida:

After graduating from university, I joined a film production company, where I worked on a wide range of visual media, including commercials, educational films, and television programs.
Being involved in every stage of production—from concept development to execution—gradually strengthened my desire to learn the craft of documentary filmmaking from the ground up. At the age of thirty, I enrolled in a graduate program in the United States to pursue that goal.
Upon returning to Japan, I joined my current company, where I have devoted more than 25 years to creating television documentaries and factual programming.
Among the projects I have worked on, the one closest to my heart is CYCLE AROUND JAPAN, a program I launched for NHK WORLD-JAPAN, Japan’s international broadcasting service.
The series follows cyclists from around the world as they travel across Japan by bicycle, revealing landscapes, encounters, and stories that can only be experienced at the pace of human movement. Through these journeys, viewers discover not only the beauty of the country but also the warmth and character of its people.
This unhurried, human-scale approach to travel has resonated deeply with audiences around the world. What began as a new experiment has since grown into a long-running and widely acclaimed series, now entering its twelfth year.

— How did you feel when you were invited to join GREEN×EXPO 2027?

Uchida:

This year, I turn sixty-five, and I suspect this project will be one of the final major challenges of my career.
Looking back, the last exposition-related project I worked on at my previous company was EXPO ’90, the International Garden and Greenery Exposition in Osaka.
More than three decades later, I find myself once again involved in a world exposition. There is something profoundly meaningful about that unexpected connection across time.
At the same time, this project has presented me with an entirely new set of challenges.
Television programs, by their nature, are broadcast and then pass into memory. An exhibition at the Themed Pavilion, however, remains in place for six months, continuously encountered by new audiences.
The language of expression is fundamentally different as well. Here, I cannot rely on narration, captions, or explanatory text to guide the viewer.
Instead, the challenge is to create a space where visitors can move at their own pace, discovering meaning through experience rather than instruction. It is a form of storytelling that unfolds through presence, atmosphere, and personal encounter.
The responsibility is considerable, but so is the opportunity. As a storyteller, I hope to bring together everything I have learned over the course of my career and transform it into a new kind of documentary—one that is experienced not on a screen, but within a space.

The Tree of Hope: Grown Together

— What kind of exhibition are you hoping to create at the Themed Pavilion?

Uchida:

One of the frameworks used to assess the Earth’s environmental stability is the concept of Planetary Boundaries, which identifies the limits within which humanity can safely operate. According to this framework, seven of the nine boundaries have already been exceeded. In other words, our planet is facing an environmental crisis of unprecedented scale.
Precisely because GREEN×EXPO 2027 is being held at such a critical moment, we felt that those who come to the Themed Pavilion should be welcomed not simply as visitors, but as participants—people who can join us in imagining and shaping the future of our planet.
It was during these discussions that Director Sugiyama, who oversees the Themed Pavilion, introduced me to Seed Paper®. From that conversation emerged the idea for a participatory project: visitors would take home paper embedded with plant seeds, nurture the seedlings as they grow, photograph the process, and share their images with us.

We have no intention of standing on a podium and telling people to “save the environment”. What we hope to offer instead is something far more personal: the experience of nurturing a plant with your own hands—watering it each day and watching it bloom.
Our hope is that this simple act of caring for a living thing will become a first step toward seeing the future of our planet as something personal and tangible, rather than distant and abstract.

— It seems that Seed Paper® itself carries a deeper message.

Uchida:

Indeed, the very concept of Seed Paper® embodies “the idea of giving new life to something that has fulfilled its original purpose”.
The paper is made from shredded waste materials provided by companies and organizations participating in the Expo. These materials are reborn through the hands of traditional Japanese papermakers, who carefully embed seeds into handmade paper. The subsequent processes—printing, cutting, and assembly—are carried out by people with disabilities.
In this way, the project supports the continuation of traditional craftsmanship, creates meaningful employment opportunities, and ultimately returns to the earth after blooming into flowers. From beginning to end, it is a cycle of renewal. That cycle is, in many ways, a microcosm of the Circular Economy (a regenerative, resource-circulating economy) we seek to express through the Themed Pavilion.

I hope that this small sheet of Seed Paper®, entrusted to your care, will find a place in your daily life—bringing moments of wonder and joy, and nurturing a deeper connection with the living world as it grows.

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