null² is the Signature Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, produced by Yoichi Ochiai. WOW's involvement in the project stemmed from their eight-year collaborative relationship with Ochiai through orchestral projects.

Ochiai’s trusted circle of creators and companies, including noiz architects who handled the spatial design, collaborated over the course of four years. At the kickoff meeting, specific experiences such as architecture and visual content had not been decided yet, so the project progressed through discussions among all members. Ochiai established Forging Lives as the overarching theme of null². The pavilion centers on liberating visitors from their kigou—the elements that constitute their identity, such as their appearance, voice, and the tastes and preferences acquired throughout life. The underlying philosophy suggests that by breaking free from fixed notions and predetermined forms, one achieves true freedom, and consequently, “forges their life.” Early discussions focused on views of life and death, religious perspectives, and cosmologies from around the world, with Eastern philosophical concepts such as reincarnation and Zhuangzi's “Butterfly Dream” woven in from the initial briefings. As WOW advanced the project, the team deepened their understanding of the concept through the notion of śūnya (emptiness) in the Heart Sutra and its symbolization.

The key concept for realizing the theme Forging Lives as an experience is two mirrors. One is the exterior, a pulsating “sculpture” that incorporates the surrounding landscape; the other is the interior experience using each visitor's Mirrored Body®︎. The exterior of the “sculpture” is covered with mirror surfaces, distorting the surrounding scenery and reflecting the environment. The interior rooms are also covered with mirrors, creating infinite reflections of the visual content. Though a physical structure, both the interior and exterior continuously move like a living organism.

Mirrored Body®︎ is the visitor's own digital human. This “other self,” generated in advance through an app, appears in the monolith, a video entity. Through dialogue with them, visitors release and dissolve the kigou—the entanglements attached to oneself. This process, impossible in the physical world, enables a certain kind of ritualistic experience of forging life.

The pavilion operates in two main modes, and this describes the experience within Dialogue mode. The other, Installation mode, allows visitors to view a visual installation featuring artificial life that does not rely on language from the corridors.

This project embodied a strong spirit of collective artistic creation. Rather than following the clear schedules and specifications required in typical work, it was a cycle of forming hypotheses, creating, destroying, and rebuilding. This continued right up to the day before opening. Throughout the four years dedicated to the project, the team was in constant flux, creating and destroying. These weren’t failures, but rather essential iterations in refining the work. Throughout the process, WOW was responsible not only for visual production but also for designing the overall spatial direction. Through meticulous discussions with Ochiai, WOW served as the central hub, integrating everything from AI-powered real-time video generation, sound design, and image effects to controlling the Mirrored Body®︎ generated in the app, as well as the fine movements of the monolith and the ceiling-mounted robotic arm known as the goshintai (sacred object). Essentially, they designed the time flow of the entire spatial experience. The work of translating Ochiai's vision into reality while coordinating with various parties and designing the overall experience required balancing artistry with constructive capability.

In the present day, where most of the world’s information can be easily accessed via social media, null² is no exception—nearly every aspect of the installation can be found online. It's essentially "spoiled" before you arrive. Yet none of the team members pay this any mind. This is because they've relentlessly pursued an experience that can only be had in person, embedding mechanisms throughout that transcend the digital preview, creating a pavilion where they can confidently say "you have to come to truly enjoy it." After countless cycles of scrap and build, an overwhelmingly powerful experience unique to this place was born.