A huge two -kilometer ring and 20 meters high

Osaka is known for its port, its culinary offer, the Shinsekai district, its emblematic castle and its sanctuaries, among other claims. Now (and at least during the next months) a new Guinness record is added to all of them: the world’s largest wooden architectural structure, a gigantic ring of 61,000 m2 inspired by an old Japanese construction technique and that has become one of the icons (and the most recognizable) of Expo 2025, which has just opened in Oska and will have its doors open until October.

The name of the gigantic structure, which has already been in the Guinness book, leaves little room for interpretation: Grand Ring have baptized it.

A ring to govern them all. Although the OSAKA-Kansai Expo2025 has the participation of more than 160 countries and regions, its inauguration in Yumeshima was headed by the highest Japanese authorities and its objective is Rain, sun and wind shelter. And it is normal that it has generated so much interest. After all, Grand Ring is not just any ring. There is no other like him in the world.

Why’s that? How much it measures. And especially for how it has been done. The structure is basically built with Japanese cedar and cypress wood and wild pine. Moreover, its creators claim the symbolic value of that mixture of native and foreign materials, although the former represent about 70% of the construction. Worldwide there is no larger wood architectural structure. And so the Guinness World Records judges, who have already granted the official plusmarca.

Question of measures. Grand Ring figures impress. The outer diameter of the ring reaches 675 meters (615 m in the inner face) and covers an area of ​​construction of just over 61,000 m2. As for the huge circular structure, it has a width of about 30 m with a height that at the outer end reaches 20 m. On the internal side it is somewhat lower and is around 12 m. The works to shape them started in June 2023 and did not end until August last year. In total, the operators used around 27,000 m3 of wood.

Something more than great figures. The ring is interesting for more than its enormous size or its record size. The organizers of the 2025 Expo insist that the structure was built by combining modern construction methods and the “Nuki” tradition used in the building of sanctuaries and temples. In practice, Swissinfo points out, that means that the use of screws or nails is not contemplated to hold the beams. The work is inspired by the kiyomizudera.

To assemble the structure, the vertical and horizontal pieces are intended, forming a scaffolding composed mainly of local sugi sugi and hinoki cypress. Although the environment specialized in architecture and designboom design clarifies that in the case of Grand Ring its creators resorted to metal elements to reinforce the resistance of the structure to the earthquakes. The Japanese manufacturing system has allowed for example that the Kiyomizudera temple has remained standing for centuries, although over time it has been restored and rebuilt.

And what will your future be? Expo 2025 was inaugurated on Sunday 13 and will remain until mid -October, a period of time during which organizers are confident of receiving some 28 million visitors, including 3.5 million foreigners, with an economic impact that according to some estimates will move between 12,270 and 17.6 billion euros.

What will happen to Grand Ring once the exhibition ends is something that is not yet at all clear. His architect, the architect Sou Fujimoto has recognized since he would like to be preserved at least part of the structure in his current location. The key is that its land belongs to the city of Osaka and the construction to the Japanese association for the Expo. The international event has also been launched between news about the high cost of the installation (much greater than expected initially) and a warm moment interest by the public.

Claiming the wood. “I would like to keep it, preserve it … because it is really wonderful and a symbol of how our society can live together with nature,” says Fujimoto in an interview with CNN. In case it should be dismantled, ask the wood to be used in other projects. “Although the building disappears, the spirit of the materials will remain alive.”

For now, Grand Ring has served for something more than conquering Guinness records: it is a sample of the possibilities of wood architecture (an upward bet and is already being used in the construction of skyscrapers), especially in Japan, where according to the US chain, today about 90% of single -family homes rise with wooden structures.

Images | Eduards B (Flickr) and Expo25

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