Sumitomo Electric Industries : Announcement of the “Sumitomo Pavilion” Concept at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai (Sumitomo EXPO 2025 Promotion Committee) (0.9 MB)

	October 4, 2023
【Press Document】	Sumitomo EXPO 2025
Promotion Committee

Toward a future starting from the forest

Announcement of the "Sumitomo Pavilion" Concept

at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai

Sumitomo Group will announce the "Sumitomo Pavilion" at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.

With 400 years of history, Sumitomoʼs foundation as a group was built through mining of the Besshi Copper Mines (Niihama, Ehime, Japan.) When excessive lumbering and smoke pollution led to the depletion of the Besshi mountains, the group initiated tree planting and spent over a century bringing life back to the forest based on Sumitomo Business Philosophy of, "Benefit for self and others, private and public interests are one and the same" (*), that stresses the importance of harmony between business and public interest. Our relationship with the forest and our actions dedicated to passing this on to future generations continue to this day and serve as the essence of the Sumitomo Business Philosophy. This pavilion will address social issues through the collective power of the Sumitomo Group by applying its outstanding talent and the wisdom and technical capabilities honed throughout the years. We will create a place of conversation and gathering through inspiring exhibitions and entertainment that move peopleʼs hearts, spurs change, and create hope for the future.

1. "Benefit for self and others, private and public interests are one and the same." Sumitomo's business, while benefiting Sumitomo, must also benefit the nation and benefit society.

【Sumitomo Pavilion Overview】

The Sumitomo Pavilion will offer an interactive experience that introduces different stories of life in the forest and a "plant-a-tree experience" open to every visitor in hopes of sustaining peopleʼs interest toward the social and environmental issues that we face today.

Trees planted by the children of tomorrow and adults alike will be passed on in an unbroken chain into the future over decades and centuries. Visitors can discover trees that have been passed onto us from our predecessors. They can uncover "stories of life" in this one-of-a-kind forest. We will introduce a pavilion where the formative experience in the forest will encourage people to give thought to the forest and Mother nature and realize the importance of how we address our future.

【Contact information】

Sumitomo EXPO 2025 Promotion Committee executive office

		person in charge ：	Terajima・Yasunaga
・contact address	: 06-6220-6020
・Email／ Terajima	:	[e-mail]
Yasunaga	:	[e-mail]
・Official website	:	https://sumitomoexpo.com/en/

【Architectural Design of the Sumitomo Pavilion】

The design of the Sumitomo Pavilion is inspired by the "peaks of Besshi mountains in Shikoku, Japan", the foundation of Sumitomoʼs growth, and features a silhouette of its mountain wide shape. .

Trees from the "Forests of Sumitomo", owned by the Sumitomo Group, will be used throughout the pavilionʼs architecture construction. Based on the concept of "valuing each life, one tree at a time", we have considered and discussed extensively on how the wood should be processed and decided to create "Plywood" so that the tree can be used in its entirety. The wood will be cut into thin strips using a rotary cutter and turned into plywood while the leftover "Peeling Core" from peeling the logs will be turned into benches to be set up throughout the pavilion.

Architectural Design of the Sumitomo Pavilion

Architectural Design of the Sumitomo Pavilion

【Sumitomo Pavilion Symbol Mark】

Sumitomo, like its growth founded upon the Besshi Copper Mine, has continued to grow like a diverse forest. Each company of the group will come together with strength in the pavilion to become a single seed. This seed will be sowed in the hearts of each visitor and ripen with infinite possibilities for the future. This symbol shows how a "forest" shaped like an exclamation mark will start here and continue to spread wonder and excitement across nature, people, and societies now and into the future.

【Sumitomo Pavilion/Exhibition Experience】

The Sumitomo Pavilion will present, "UNKNOWN FOREST, Stories Waiting to be Discovered".

Sumitomo, throughout its time spent with the forest, has uncovered its various values to present. Here in this forest, people will discover "UNKNOWN" stories of life that have gone unheard, unseen, and overlooked until now. A forest that embraces a diversity of life. It is a place that is home to vibrant life bursting with uniqueness and the joy of celebrating diversity. We hope to speak through this experience in the UNKNOWN FOREST about the values and the teachings that could only be told by a forest.

November 30, 2023 will mark 500 days until the opening of the EXPO. The Sumitomo Pavilion will leverage the collective forces of the group to bring excitement to EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai. Like a forest that grows bigger and bigger through an unending cycle of one life giving birth to many new lives, the Sumitomo Group will set into action, believing that each step taken by each person along the way will lead to a giant wave for a brilliant future.

【Provision of assets】

• URL for assets: Assets for the "Sumitomo Pavilion" announced today are available at the URL below.

https://sumitomoexpo.com/en/materials

*When using the image, please indicate © Sumitomo EXPO2025 Promotion Committee.