Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for Toyota Group Pavilion

The Toyota Group*1 (the Group) held today a groundbreaking ceremony for the Toyota Group pavilion at the 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan (EXPO 2005 AICHI, JAPAN).

The ceremony was held in the presence of Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition Vice-Chairperson Harumi Sakamoto, Secretary-General Toshio Nakamura as guests, and was attended by about seventy people including representatives of seventeen Toyota group companies. Plans call for building construction to be completed by around October 2004, to be followed by work on the interior and facilities, with the entire completion of the pavilion scheduled for early March 2005.

The pavilion is based on the concept of a "Natural-Cycle Earth Pavilion2," utilizing the earth's renewable mechanisms. Specifically, the building itself will utilize easily dismantled and reused steel frame building materials. Lightweight steel frame materials, of the type frequently used in building projects, have been selected based on the flexibility with which they can be reused. A newly developed friction joining construction method will be used to raise the building, allowing for a minimum use of bolt holes and welding, and rendering the materials reusable after dismantling.

With the intention of utilizing recyclable materials to the greatest extent possible, the exterior walls will be constructed from a recyclable material manufactured from post-consumer waste paper. The interior will partially use kenaf, a material being developed into a product by the Group.

Once EXPO 2005 closes, we plan to reuse or recycle all building materials so that the pavilion's construction materials waste emission is zero.