Professor Lisa Schrenk Serves on International Design Jury for Expo 2025 in Osaka

Professor of Architectural History Lisa Schrenk represented CAPLA on the world stage as a member of the international design jury for Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai, Japan.

She was appointed last spring by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), the organization that has been overseeing world’s fairs since 1928. Schrenk serves on a jury composed of four members selected by the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, four by the BIE and the BIE secretary general. 

“My invitation to join the jury came directly from the Secretary General, who noted that I was the first American to be asked to serve on the jury in twenty years,” Schrenk said.

The winners of the Expo 2025 Osaka Official Participant Awards were announced on BIE Day, October 12.

“Serving on this international design jury is the greatest honor of my career,” Schrenk said. 

She noted that the significance of her role became clear during the closing days of the Expo, when she toured pavilions alongside representatives from the BIE’s 184 member states and attended the BIE Day events seated not far from the Crown Prince and Princess of Japan.

Her involvement also reflects the growing influence of the Institute for the Study of International Expositions (ISIE), the global organization for the study of world’s fairs that Schrenk co-founded. She said her work on the jury has helped ISIE establish a relationship with the BIE. 

“The first tangible benefit for ISIE is that our RII-funded Best Design Practices in Expositions workshop will now be held in Paris at the BIE headquarters this coming spring,” she said. “The resulting publication will likely be supported by funding through a contact I made at the Expo from the UAE.”

Schrenk also participated in ISIE’s first two in-person symposia at the Expo: “States, Stories, and Structures: Understanding the Power of Expos in July” and “Expos Ahead: Architecture, Exhibits, and National Purpose in October.” 

Hosted by the Swiss Pavilion, the events brought together Commissioners General and Deputy Directors of national pavilions to discuss the impact of world expos on diplomacy, economics, design and popular culture. Schrenk shared some of the expo-related design work of past CAPLA students during her presentation.

While in Japan, Schrenk also connected with colleagues involved in planning the 2031 World Horticultural Expo in Minnesota, which is set to be the first world’s fair to be held in the United States since 1984. She said she anticipates engaging CAPLA students in Minnesota’s expo effort for the third time next year.

“Serving on the Expo 2025 Osaka jury has opened my eyes to the incredible importance of expos for international diplomacy, especially when so much is going on outside the fairgrounds,” Schrenk said. 

She added that beyond their architectural and design achievements, expos foster six months of global engagement through formal conferences, dialogues and informal cultural exchanges. 

“One example of this was an event held in the Women’s Pavilion that I was able to attend that highlighted innovative initiatives being carried out by Saudi women,” she said.

Schrenk emphasized that CAPLA’s participation in global initiatives like this highlights the college’s international presence. 

“While so much of CAPLA’s outreach projects focus on contributions to local and regional communities, the work of ISIE and other global community initiatives by the CAPLA community help to remind us that CAPLA also has an important leadership role as an institution on the world stage,” she said.

For more content from her trip, visit her photo blog here.