OMA stacks louis vuitton trunks at expo 2025 osaka's france pavilion

A Library of Craft in Stacked louis vuitton Trunks

For the France Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Louis Vuitton, and OMA / Shohei Shigematsu reveal a dual installation that transcends exhibition and immersive architecture. Housed within the French Pavilion’s overarching theme, ‘A Hymn to Love,’ the collaboration carves out two distinct experiences — one rooted in heritage and the other propelled by imagination — inviting visitors to explore the enduring tension between tradition and transformation.

The first of the pavilion‘s two interconnected spaces presents a towering archive of savoir-faire. Stacked from floor to ceiling, eighty-four open wardrobe trunks define the room’s architecture, creating a glowing chamber that both stores and displays the brand’s 160-year legacy of craft. Each trunk is fitted with bespoke compartments showcasing videos of craftspeople at work, transforming this ‘library’ into a living museum of technique. Warmly backlit like a lantern, the installation transitions from bright openness to subdued mystery, reinforcing the symbolic arc from past to present.

photography by Marco Cappelletti, courtesy Louis Vuitton

the Rotating ‘Theater of the Future’ at expo 2025 osaka

In the second room of Expo 2025 Osaka‘s France Pavilion, Louis Vuitton and the architects at OMA shift gears with a performative sphere — a monumental 6.6-meter globe composed entirely of the brand‘s white Courrier Lozine trunks. The globe levitates within a double-height space, rotating and moving vertically in sync with a hypnotic video installation by Daito Manabe. Unlike the introspective first room, this kinetic environment evokes a futuristic theater, enveloping visitors in motion, light, and sound. The sculptural object draws on Expo iconography while reimagining the trunk, Louis Vuitton’s original design module, as a metaphor for exploration and reinvention.

Here, the trunk becomes more than just a container — it’s a building block. Shigematsu’s concept interlocks opposing spatial narratives: archive and theater, preservation and performance. ‘We created two contrasting spaces with one module, the trunk,’ the architect explains. ‘One is built from stacked open trunks, the other a sphere made from trunks. Interlocked, the two juxtapose tradition and transformation.’ The gesture also reflects a deeper cultural resonance between France and Japan, emphasizing shared values of craftsmanship, precision, and innovation.

Louis Vuitton and OMA create a dual installation for the France Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka