The exhibition pavilion of the Czech Republic takes the form of a wooden structural sculpture representing a stylized forest as one of the most accessible and popular places for spending leisure time for the Czech people. The pavilion benefits from its prominent location on the waterfront promenade. It is easily identifiable up close and from views from the Fujimoto’s colonnade in the lagoon. The pavilion has a clear, large-scale, memorable form. The Wooden Temple is an abstract collage of vertical wooden slats, overlapping in transparencies and layered plains. Light permeates from all sides, interplaying with light from the vault. The interior space rises and falls freely, pulsates dynamically, opens and closes, rising against the sky. Gradually, its individual layers peel away. The design accentuates the effects of the natural environment without audiovisual technology. It is a counter-reaction to our hyper-technologized world and virtual reality.

exhibition concept

It would be hard to find an area in which Czech reality surpasses Japanese reality. We are aware of this as are the Japanese. However, in one area, arguably, we have an objective advantage. While the Japanese empire turned into an industrial power only in the 1970s, the industrial revolution in the Czech Republic started at the turn of the 18th century - almost two hundred years earlier. And while the Czech region has been transforming into a post-industrial society for half a century, Japan is still on the threshold of this epoch. One sign of this is the shift in importance of work in the lives of new generations of Japanese. And here we feel there is room for a message from the Czech reality. The subject of the presentation is time, or rather how we spend our free time.
The introduction outlines the change in the structure of time in Czech life, transitioning from the industrial era to the post-industrial era. From the twelve-hour working day, six days a week. to the current standard of five, eight-hour, working days a week,with paid holidays and maternity leave, to the new phenomena of kurzarbeit and home office. Secondly we explain how we manage this acquired free time. What are the popular ways to spend it and the impact on well-being? Making good use of leisure time promotes regeneration, creates space for social connections, community and family, and ultimately improves creativity and work efficiency, and, simply put, it enhances the quality of life.
We present a walk in the woods - one of the most traditional leisure activities in our country - which is de facto non-existent in Japan. On an approx. 120 m long path through a stylized forest, the typical forms of leisure in the Czech Republic are presented in exhibition spots grouped into thematic nests; recreational sports, and active lifestyle, cottage life, gardening, animal husbandry, boating, mushroom picking, hiking, climbing, fishing, hunting, camping, tramping,  DIY and other hobbies. The exposition culminates in an amphitheater which comes alive with a program demonstrating leisure activities. From the bottom of the amphitheater, a passageway with an infoshop and a restaurant opens up, along or through which the visitor returns to the front of the pavilion overlooking the horizon of the lagoon with Fujimoto’s colonnade. The infopoint and gift shop then offer leisure tools and equipment. And the adjoining restaurant then presents one of the most popular forms of leisure activities, culinary and pub conviviality. The space of the pavilion is very structured and, at first glance, elusive. It does not create rooms or cubicles. Vertical slats divide it into variously sized nooks and crannies. It can function as an artist's labyrinth in itself, or it can accommodate exhibits in various formats that only become apparent to visitors upon closer inspection.