The proposal of "Makün: The Cloak of Chile" proposes to structure a textile pavilion through a cloak made by 200 Chilean weavers from La Araucanía.
Chile's participation will allow the promotion of its new sustainable industries, as well as deepen its presence in Asia.
The project "Makün: The Mantle of Chile" was selected as the winning proposal to develop the interior architecture and façade for the Chilean pavilion at the Universal Exposition 2025, to be held in Osaka (Japan) between April 13 and October 13 next year.
The idea -developed by architects Jeannette Plaut and Marcelo Sarovic- was chosen after a public competition opened in February of this year by ProChile. The competition sought to receive proposals for strong ideas to build the story, as well as a proposal for a conceptual architectural idea for the pavilion's interior and façade.
The winning project was determined unanimously by a public-private commission, which was composed of members of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Undersecretariat of International Economic Relations, ProChile, the Fundación Imagen de Chile, the Chilean Commissioner for Expo Osaka 2025, plus three architects from the Chilean Association of Architects and two from the Chilean Association of Architects' Offices (AOA).
The Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza, highlighted that Expo Osaka 2025 opens an opportunity for cooperation and exchange among the participating nations, not only commercially, but also in other dimensions such as culture.
"It is also an opportunity to showcase the country, an invaluable platform to address global challenges and project our country's image, culture and identity to millions of people. And the design of our pavilion will represent the best of Chile and strengthen our international presence," he added.
Meanwhile, Paulina Nazal, Chile's Commissioner for Expo Osaka 2025, explained that "the winning project has an innovative vision but is also very committed to the traditions of our culture, which I am sure will be a source of pride for our country. This pavilion will represent not only Chile in this international event, but will also be a testimony of our history, culture, people, development in recent years, and our future and commitment to saving the planet and saving lives, which is the theme that we have been entrusted with.
"Makün: The Mantle of Chile".
The proposal of "Makün: The Mantle of Chile" proposes to structure a textile pavilion through a mantle made by 200 Chilean weavers from La Araucanía (from five different communities in that region), which will be taken to Japan to be installed in the pavilion. " Makün" is a word of Mapuche origin that means mantle or blanket (protective garment) that appeals to the traditional textile culture of the Mapuche people.
Chile's participation in Expo Osaka seeks to convey the Chilean State's determination to position itself in the Asia Pacific. Chile's presence will allow the promotion of its new sustainable industries, in addition to strengthening the role of our country as a bridge to Latin America.
It also seeks to continue strengthening the strategic bilateral relationship with Japan, an Asian country with which Chile has the oldest diplomatic relations -since 1897- and with which there is an exchange valued at more than US $9 billion.
This article is a reduction of the original, published by ProChile.