The commission for this special exhibition on the occasion of EXPO 2025 was to draw attention to the remarkable development of timber architecture in Austria, presented within the popular cultural setting of the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka. We call the installation "verywood – Austrian Architecture Today."
The basic idea is to merge traditional Japanese paper folding art with the tectonics of contemporary timber architecture using new, planar wood-based materials—and to scale this fusion into a spatial experience. The wooden sculptures unfold in three sequences, alluding to the liveliness of the material. The magic of the breathing form thus merges with the beauty and flexibility of modern wood materials—their aesthetics, lightness, malleability, and structural strength. It is a coherent expression of the message suited to this occasion and space.
In addition to this key visual, interested viewers will find a selection of 26 current examples of modern timber architecture and statements from the architects, curated by Verena Konrad and Hermann Kaufmann, presented on three monitors and the exhibition website.
Wood is in motion. New wood-based materials are continually being researched and developed. Now is the time to reconnect with this globally renowned tradition of building with wood and to lead the constructive design, planning, and building with wood into the future. The goal was to avoid conventional industry marketing and instead give this new cultural building movement with wood the recognition and dignity it deserves.
