Areas
Heat Island
This project is designed for the Expo 2025 in Osaka with theme “designing future society of our lives” and focuses on sustainable cities. It seeks to raise awareness about the heat island effect in urbanized area and its related issues about climate equity. Building materials such as concrete, absorb and re-emit solar energy more than natural landscapes. The material itself would also have higher surface temperature than the atmospheric temperature. Thus, the initial concept models express the process of heat penetrating into concrete surfaces, through absorbing, storing and releasing. The overall form and performative nature of the paper models correspond to the kinetic energy of compression and tension. The pavilion expresses a fluid play between tension and compression and the volumes wrapped by these large gestures form spaces with different pockets of heat. The central mass, formed by thick concrete walls, serves as the main heat source for the pavilion and radiates to the periphery, which echoes the heat island effect. The varying sizes and density of folded panels further emphasize the distribution of heat. The design encourages a sensory experience influenced by contrast of heat, light and mass, and also suggests ways of mitigating heat island effect through building materials, vegetation and water.