An Interesting Twist on the Sunken Living Room

The theme of the German Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka is the circular economy. The Berlin-based studio of architecture network LAVA designed the structures which are, unsurprisingly, circular: Circular shape aside, visitors are meant to wend their way through the displays—which cover exhibitions of biospheres, circular cities with closed material and energy cycles, and examples of humans coexisting harmoniously with nature—in a linear fashion. Not literally, but meaning that there is a beginning and end to the exhibit hall. What most caught my eye is the final room in this sequence, this "Circular Me" hall: Within this space, designed by Cologne-based creative agency Facts and Fiction, "visitors reflect on personal choices, habits, and values. Through poetic imagery, thought-provoking questions, and a space that invites to pause, you're asked: 'What are you willing to change? What kind of future do you want to co-create?'" The space is an interesting twist on the sunken living room/conversation pit, creating intimacy through a depression in the ceiling rather than the floor. And while I'm getting away from the theme of the exhibition here, the following occurred to me: If the screen was divided into four quadrants all showing the same thing, and if a lenticular effect could be created such that someone sitting at 6 o'clock could only see the screen centered on 12 o'clock, it would make for a rather novel home cinema.

May 13, 2025 - 18:24

An Interesting Twist on the Sunken Living Room

The theme of the German Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka is the circular economy. The Berlin-based studio of architecture network LAVA designed the structures which are, unsurprisingly, circular:

Circular shape aside, visitors are meant to wend their way through the displays—which cover exhibitions of biospheres, circular cities with closed material and energy cycles, and examples of humans coexisting harmoniously with nature—in a linear fashion. Not literally, but meaning that there is a beginning and end to the exhibit hall.

What most caught my eye is the final room in this sequence, this "Circular Me" hall:

Within this space, designed by Cologne-based creative agency Facts and Fiction, "visitors reflect on personal choices, habits, and values. Through poetic imagery, thought-provoking questions, and a space that invites to pause, you're asked: 'What are you willing to change? What kind of future do you want to co-create?'"

The space is an interesting twist on the sunken living room/conversation pit, creating intimacy through a depression in the ceiling rather than the floor. And while I'm getting away from the theme of the exhibition here, the following occurred to me: If the screen was divided into four quadrants all showing the same thing, and if a lenticular effect could be created such that someone sitting at 6 o'clock could only see the screen centered on 12 o'clock, it would make for a rather novel home cinema.