Grand Ring

The Grand Ring is a building designed by Sou Fujimoto for Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Built using traditional wooden joinery, it covers an area of 61,035 square metres (656,980 sq ft), making it the largest wooden architectural structure on earth according to the Guinness Book of World Records.^[2][3][4][5]

The Grand Ring
大屋根リング
The Grand Ring in April 2025
General information
Status	Completed
Location	Yumeshima, Osaka, Japan
Country	Japan
Year(s) built	2023–2025
Height	20 meters
Technical details
Floor area	61,035.55 square metre
[1]

Architecture

The Grand Ring, as the name suggests is a large wooden ring covering 61,035 square metres. The Nuki technique is used for the ring along with modern technology. About 70% of the wood used in the ring is Japanese Cryptomeria and Chamaecyparis obtusa while the other 30% of the wood is foreign Pinus sylvestris.^[6] The ring is the largest wooden architectural structure on earth according to the Guinness World Records.^[7] The ring features a 2,025 meters long pathway on top named the "Skywalk", with five escalators and six elevators providing access to them.^[8][9]

Plans for post-Expo preservation

The ring was originally planned to be demolished after the end of the Expo 2025, with wooden materials re-used in the future.^[10] However, private sectors have proposed preserving 200 meters of the northern ring to preserve as a landmark, while Hirofumi Yoshimura, the governor of the Osaka Prefecture proposed preserving 600 meters of the southern part of the ring.^[11][12]