Kintsugi

Anchored in the concept of Human Regeneration, the Pavilion's creative expression is based on the graphic principle of Kintsugi. This ancient Japanese technique for repairing broken ceramics highlights the cracks rather than masking them. The method uses a special lacquer mixed with gold, silver or platinum powder to glue together the fragments of a broken object. The result is a piece embellished with shimmering veins in the broken areas, giving the object new life and a unique beauty.

Kintsugi embodies a philosophy that accepts imperfections and values objects despite - or because of - their flaws. It represents resilience, the acceptance of change, and the celebration of what is imperfect, temporary and incomplete. This approach is often seen as a metaphor for the trials of human life, encouraging us to recognise and value scars rather than hide them.

Integrating the concept of Kintsugi with the theme of health in the Belgian Pavilion offers an enriching perspective on healing and recovery. In terms of health, Kintsugi can be seen as a powerful metaphor for the healing process, highlighting not only resilience, but also the beauty and value that can emerge from repair after illness or injury.

In this way, Kintsugi serves as a model for approaching healing and health in a way that values the human experience in all its complexity, promoting a more empathetic and holistic view of medicine. This graphic principle guides the creation of the Pavilion's visuals and is found as a motif in many places, including unexpected spaces, bringing visual coherence to the whole.

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© Created with AI by @Profirst (Member of the VJ Consortium)

The consortium

Who is behind the design? 

The winning consortium consists of several very strong and well-known players in the world of designing spaces and experiences. The companies are very Belgian with an international twist, given their operations go global!

Dirty Monitor

Dirty Monitor is an artists' collective founded by Orphée and Mauro Cataldo in Charleroi in 2004. Together, they developed their first artistic projects for local cultural centres and museums. Pioneers in digital art and video mapping, their high-profile collaborations with leading Belgian artistic directors such as Luc Petit and Franco Dragone have enabled them to spread their expertise around the world.

Profirst

Profirst is a Belgian events and communications agency founded by Bruno Pani in 1989. Combining artistic direction, strategy and top-of-the-range production, each event is designed as an effective communication lever to reinforce the brand's image. Specialising in luxury, fashion and beauty, Profirst enjoys a worldwide reputation thanks to its many international clients.

Tempora

Tempora is a Belgian agency specialising in the design, production, promotion and management of exhibitions and cultural facilities. Based in Brussels, it develops major projects both in Belgium and internationally. Every year, the company welcomes more than 800,000 visitors to all the sites and exhibitions it operates.

Showtex Asia

Active in the entertainment and events industry since 1983, Showtex is the world leader in the invention, manufacture, sale and installation of innovative fireproof curtains. Its sewing workshops enable rapid production of top-of-the-range, made-to-measure scenic elements. Also, a supplier of technical elements and stage lighting, ShowTex is an excellent example of Belgian know-how, in constant search of innovation.

Barco

Founded in 1934 in Poperinge by Lucien de Puydt, Barco began by assembling radios from parts imported from the United States, hence the name ‘Barco’ (Belgium American Radio Corporation). Today, Barco is still a Belgian company specialising in digital projection and imaging technology. It focuses on three main markets: entertainment, business and healthcare. With more than 400 patents to its credit, Barco develops innovative solutions to bring added value to its customers around the world.

Belgium

The common Belgian focus will exhibit Belgian’s excellence in vaccines. Belgium has contributed on an immense scale to the development of vaccines. Our country is globally recognised for its extensive expertise, which encompasses far more than just the production of these life-saving immunisations. Belgium possesses a comprehensive ecosystem that integrates every critical phase of vaccine development and distribution, ensuring that Belgium remains at the forefront of global health innovation.

Central to this ecosystem are the academic institutions that drive pioneering research, laying the groundwork for new vaccine discoveries. This research is seamlessly translated into practical applications through robust research and development efforts, where promising findings are developed into viable vaccine candidates. Rigorous clinical trials are conducted to ensure the safety and efficacy of these vaccines, a process in which Belgian institutions excel. Once a vaccine has proven effective, Belgium’s leading pharmaceutical companies take charge of large-scale manufacturing, leveraging advanced technologies and stringent quality controls.

The journey of a vaccine from the lab in Belgium to the patient anywhere in the world is supported by Belgium’s sophisticated logistics network. Efficient transport systems and advanced cooling capabilities ensure that vaccines are distributed swiftly and securely, maintaining their potency until they reach healthcare providers. Belgium’s expertise in global export is another crucial element of this ecosystem, with a well-established track record of navigating international regulations and delivering vaccines to all corners of the world. This entire framework is further strengthened by favourable government policies that provide financial support, tax incentives and streamlined regulatory processes, fostering and environment where vaccine innovation and distribution can thrive.

Brussels

The regions will each also have their day in the sun in the Belgian pavilion. When walking through Brussels, visitors will get a glimpse of the progress Brussels has been making regarding robotics in medicine. Brussels is rapidly emerging as a hub for innovation in medical robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), showcasing impressive advancements that are transforming healthcare. The city’s unique blend of academic excellence, cutting-edge research institutions, and a thriving tech ecosystem positions it at the forefront of this dynamic field. With a strong emphasis on developing intelligent systems, Brussels is pioneering the integration of robotics and AI to enhance medical procedures, improve patient outcomes, and streamline healthcare operations.

A significant example is Axiles Bionics, a company that has revolutionised the field of prosthetics with advanced joint solutions. Originating as a spin-off from the Free University of Brussels, Axiles Bionics has developed state-of-the-art prosthetic devices that combine AI with tangible technology to create highly functional and adaptive bionic joints. Their ground-breaking framework earned them the prestigious Henry Van De Velde design award, highlighting their excellence in design and innovation.

Brussels’ collaboration with FARI, a Brussels institute putting the Common Good at the heart of AI, data and robotics research, highlights the city’s commitment to fostering interdisciplinary partnerships and leveraging AI to push the boundaries of medical technology. These initiatives are part of a broader movement in Brussels to integrate advanced robotics into healthcare, exemplified by the city's upcoming exhibitions featuring cutting-edge exoskeletons. These wearable robotic devices have the potential to significantly enhance mobility and rehabilitation for patients with physical impairments, showcasing yet another facet of Brussels' leadership in medical robotics.

Flanders

Meanwhile Flanders is set to captivate audiences with its “Circle of Life” exhibition (from cradle to grave and beyond), inspired by the innovative ‘Body of the Future’ concept that has recently been developed by Health House (the health tech experience centre in Leuven), with the kind support of spearhead cluster Medvia & many other partners. This exhibition will showcase Flanders' expertise in health tech, guiding visitors through an immersive journey of human life, from birth to old age. By focusing on the entire human lifespan, the exhibition highlights how Flanders' advanced medical technologies support and enhance health at every stage of life.

The “Circle of Life” exhibition will demonstrate how cutting-edge technologies can assist and improve human life in all stages, even before birth (in the womb). As visitors progress through the exhibition, they will encounter advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies that address the complex health challenges faced by adults. The journey will culminate in exploring eldercare innovations, illustrating how Flanders' health tech enhances quality of life and independence in later years. The exhibition will mainly focus on newly developed healthcare technologies but will at the same time show a glimpse of the future, exploring the limits of our human capabilities (and beyond).

Flanders' expertise in health technology is not only evident in the development of these innovations but also in the comprehensive approach to healthcare that integrates these advancements seamlessly into everyday life. The exhibition underscores Flanders' specialization in creating technologies that guide and support the human body through each stage of life, from cradle to grave, ensuring a continuum of care that adapts to the evolving needs of individuals.

Wallonia

Wallonia has chosen to illustrate the challenges of artificial intelligence in healthcare, with a focus on digital twins. This is a major advance in personalised medicine, since this technology makes it possible to adapt treatments to the unique genetic and physiological characteristics of each individual.

A digital twin is a virtual model built from a collection of as much medical data as possible on a human individual or a specific organ, on which the effects of certain drugs or external factors such as a change in lifestyle can be virtually simulated through the application of AI models. The applications are vast, including the discovery of new drugs and the design of new diagnostic tools. Wallonia, which is at the forefront of the development and implementation of these advanced AI simulations, wants this futuristic theme to be understood by the general public.

To this end, the Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency and Wallonie-Bruxelles International (who are coordinating the participation of Wallonia and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation at the Osaka Expo) are working in coordination with TRAIL (Trusted AI Labs) and MedReSyst (Network and Systems Medicine) to promote the progress made here in this sector.

TRAIL

The TRAIL Institute (Trusted AI Labs) brings together the expertise of all the French-speaking Belgian universities and the 4 research centres active in AI (Multitel, Cetic, Sirris, Cenaero). The idea is to unite the strengths in the field to accelerate cutting-edge AI research and training, with the aim of stepping up the take-up of AI by businesses and public services.

MedReSyst

MedReSyst is the medical branch of TRAIL. It also brings together the 5 French-speaking universities, the Multitel and Cetic research centres and a number of key hospitals, and aims to develop the tools needed to implement network and systems-based medicine, making it possible to understand the patient as a whole and improve his or her care from screening to treatment.

How can this be achieved? By centralising and analysing databases using several levels of artificial intelligence. From the DNA genome to environmental influences, everything is intertwined as a cause of disease. The MedReSyst initiative aims to understand all these interactions in order to find the best way to treat as many diseases as possible.

Preventing illness.

The Pavilion highlights Belgium's ability to develop and implement technologies and strategies to prevent disease and promote health on a global scale, including innovations in vaccination and disease surveillance. Adapting the human organism so that it reacts better to its environment and strengthening its immunity to counter certain diseases requires major innovations in processes and therapies. Vaccines, the theme chosen by Belgium's federal government, are a perfect illustration of this challenge.

Repair.

This curative vocation is expressed through healing mechanisms (medicines, prostheses, etc.) and the development of new tools for researchers and medicine. Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly central role in the research process, as demonstrated by the theme chosen by Bruxelles-Capitale, as well as the technology of digital twins, highlighted by the Walloon Region. These virtual models make it possible to collect and compare data to study the impact of medical processes on an individual.

Pushing back the limits of human life. 

This challenge concerns all phases of life, from the fight against infertility, to the development of regenerative gene therapies (speech, memory, etc.), or ways of enabling ageing populations to live in good health. This sub-theme is the contribution of the Flemish Region.

The Belgian mascot

The Visitor Journey consortium was also commissioned to design a mascot.

And that mascot was also finally unveiled. 

This extraordinary, cute character is the very essence of our Belgian pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka. an innovative fusion of Belgian creativity and the building blocks of life: cells.

Be the Architect of Our Cell-abration!

We’re on a mission to create the best experience possible in our Belgian pavilion but we need your creativity to complete the puzzle! Our pavilion’s spirit is waiting to be set free.