World Expo Osaka 2025
For the Netherlands Pavilion at Expo 2025, five distinct variations of a single chair design have been developed in collaboration with around ten Japanese partners, ranging from industrial manufacturers to traditional artisans. This project is more than just a design exercise; it explores transformation and how a singular design, shaped by different hands materials and techniques, evolves into multiple expressions while retaining its core identity.
The chair’s design comprises a system of custom-engineered aluminium components that unify diverse materials into a single structure. This system is open, rather than rigid, balancing precision with intuition, structure with impermanence, and efficiency with craft. Each chair is fully demountable, both for practicality and to reflect the idea of temporariness, and can be reassembled, reinterpreted and adapted to new contexts.
During the development of this project, the aluminium components underwent various stages of refinement. The process has led to a more versatile and intelligent system that accommodates a wider range of materials, enhances construction efficiency and reduces production costs. As the title, v3.0, suggests, this framework remains in development, allowing for iteration and growth while retaining its structural integrity. The five chairs not only showcase material and craft variations but also represent different stages in the evolution of the aluminium system itself, with each version refining and expanding its potential.
About Sander Wassink
Sander Wassink works in both Japan and the Netherlands. His multidisciplinary practice explores the intersection of digital and physical realities, challenging conventional perceptions of form, function and meaning. Wassink integrates movement, material research and digital reflection into his practice, often using cycling as a tool for exploration. He also works with found materials such as stones, plants, and digital imagery. These elements help him question themes of memory, transformation, and belonging. Driven by curiosity, Wassink’s work invites deeper engagement with the material world, highlighting overlooked details. His videos, sound works and interactive installations examine how technology shapes perception and displaces direct experience. His ongoing search for home blends digital and physical realms to explore place, identity and the evolving relationship between presence and representation in contemporary life.