Words By Allegra Salvadori | Photography By Iwan Baan
In Osaka, on the edge of the sea, a wooden vessel is taking shape—not to sail, but to tell stories. Designed by visionary architect Lina Ghotmeh, the Bahrain Pavilion at Expo 2025 is a poetic structure that speaks through scent, sound, shadow, and craft. Titled “Connecting Seas,” it honors Bahrain’s maritime heritage while casting a hopeful gaze toward the future.
Ghotmeh—whose practice explores architecture as an “archaeology of the future”—has imagined a pavilion that rises from the shore like the hull of a traditional dhow. Built entirely from unengineered timber, assembled with Japanese joinery techniques and no concrete foundation, it’s a feat of low-impact innovation: 3,000 handcrafted pieces, naturally ventilated, entirely reusable. This is sustainability not as trend, but as philosophy.
Within, the pavilion offers a multi-sensory journey. Scent artist Sissel Tolaas, musician Hassan Hujairi, and others evoke Bahrain’s rich past as a nexus of trade and cultural exchange—through the stories of pearl divers, spice merchants, and seafarers. Upstairs, a café by chef Tala Bashmi fuses Bahraini and Japanese flavors; a boutique by designer Lulwa Al Amin dresses the staff in coastal motifs.
Spanning four levels, with terraces overlooking Osaka Bay, the pavilion doubles as a diplomatic space—showcasing Bahrain’s role as a global gateway and economic hub. But it’s also something more: a meditation on craft, connection, and coexistence.
With “Connecting Seas,” Lina Ghotmeh doesn’t just design a building. She distills a nation’s identity into space and material, reminding us that the most powerful structures don’t dominate the landscape—they listen to it.
