ES Global, a leading contractor responsible for bringing large-scale event venues and projects to life around the world, has partnered with Alchemy, a specialist in complex project delivery, to design and deliver the USA Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.
Together, they curated and managed an international team to deliver a successful pavilion build, which, three months later, has now welcomed its one millionth visitor.
See also: 20 of the best country pavilions at Expo 2025 Osaka
Crafting collaboration
The World Expo has been sharing visions of the future for over 125 years, and through its editions has told a story of technological advancement and human collaboration.
This is evidenced in the success of the USA Pavilion. As it exceeds the one million visitor milestone, the companies have reflected on the people who have powered the project.
Behind every immersive installation, modular structure, and choreographed moment is a network of human relationships built on clarity and trust.
Henry Kite, senior project manager at ES Global, says: “Any partnership works better when roles are clearly defined and potential scope gaps are addressed up front. It works when team members arrive with openness, a readiness to listen and the flexibility to adjust when briefings evolve, as they inevitably do.”
For design integrators Alchemy, the project was more than technical.
Christine Losecaat MBE, executive project director at Alchemy, says: “Our job is to create chemistry. We bring together different specialists, disciplines, cultures, and nationalities – and blend them into world-class teams.
“But that blending takes effort. It requires emotional intelligence and constant verbal clarity, especially when terms such as ‘concept’ or ‘design’ can carry completely different meanings in two different languages or disciplines.
“Projects like these succeed when people care more about the best interest of the project than protecting their own turf. The project has to be the ego. And when that’s the shared mindset, something special happens – specialists feel safe to think creatively without defensiveness or territorialism.”
The company was tasked with assembling the right team for each challenge.
“We are not a one-stop shop,” says Losecaat. “Our model is boutique – we do not take the easiest route, we take the right one. That often means engaging more highly specialised firms.”
ES Global, which specialises in relocatable architecture and modular construction, approached the project with a learning mindset.
“Too often, partners arrive wanting to dictate,” says Kite. “But we were there to support. To compliment the strengths already in play.”
Both companies found that one of the key takeaways from the experience was the importance of engaging with local supply chains early.
“Build relationships before you need them. Not just in regards to procurement, but to create the conditions for shared success. Without early buy-in from local stakeholders, international teams risk feeling disconnected from the environment they are building in,” says Kite.
Long-term value
Host countries are under increasing pressure to create lasting value, for example at events such as the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and future World Expos.
With ES Global’s relocatable, modular structures, they can deploy long-lasting structures which can later be repurposed into completely new builds for different uses.
According to Kite, there is an increasing demand for this kind of architecture. As priorities shift, relocatable infrastructure is gaining traction among nations and event organisers due to its cost-effectiveness and environmental benefits. The USA Pavilion at this year’s Expo demonstrates these benefits.
Losecaat says: “This kind of collaboration isn’t for everyone. Some firms want full control, and that’s okay. But if you’re open to sharing credit and being generous in spirit, the results can be extraordinary. It requires navigating tension, having difficult conversations, and leaning into uncertainty with optimism.”
More than one million visitors later, the visitor experience at the USA Pavilion still feels seamless. This is the result of a million different decisions, made by individuals, contributing to a larger effort. Aside from the statistics, the spectacle and the innovative technology, the success of the USA Pavilion is driven by a shared commitment to make the project the hero.
“You can have the best digital render in the world”, says Kite, “but it still has to be built by humans.”
Last month, ES Global shared details of its commissions by four nations at Expo 2025 Osaka – the UK, USA, Australia, and Canada – to create ‘relocatable architecture’ on the Expo campus.
