Top honour at the ADC: facts and fiction wins the Grand Prix for the German Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka

Highest honour for the German Pavilion “Wa! Germany!” at Expo 2025 Osaka: at the 2026 ADC Competition, the project led by facts and fiction won the Grand Prix in the “Spatial Experience” category. The project ranks among the top 10 entries this year and came second in the competition’s overall ranking. In total, the agency received ten ADC awards for the German and Austrian pavilions.

The Grand Prix is the highest honour in the ADC competition and recognises work that sets new standards in a particularly outstanding way during the respective competition year. The ‘Spatial Experience’ category honours outstanding work in the fields of spatial design, events, trade fairs and architectural installations that create a unique spatial and emotional brand experience. Awarding a Grand Prix to a project in this field particularly highlights the significance of ‘Spatial Experience’ within the creative industry. For facts and fiction, the awards represent an important recognition of the creative achievement behind the national pavilions in Osaka and further proof of the power that spatial storytelling, interactive communication and consistent design can unleash in an international context.

“As a long-standing ADC member, I know how incredibly difficult it is to win a Grand Prix. And to be honest: I never thought that a project for which I am responsible would one day be honoured with this award. That makes this moment all the more meaningful to us. The ten nails for the German and Austrian pavilions are a great tribute to the many people who worked on these projects, and to our commitment not only to explaining complex topics but also to making them a tangible experience within the space. “We are delighted that the ADC has recognised this work so comprehensively,” says Andreas Horbelt, Creative Director at facts and fiction.

Awards for Germany and Austria
In addition to the Grand Prix and a place in the top 10 of this year’s entries for the German Pavilion, facts and fiction was awarded ten ‘Nails’ for the pavilions of Germany and Austria.

The German Pavilion“Wa! Germany!” won awards in seven categories. It focused on the theme of the circular economy and brought circularity to life as a guiding principle on several levels: architecturally, scenographically, through media and interactively. The ‘Circulars’ also received a separate award; these served as interactive guides through the exhibition, making complex content accessible to individual visitors.

The German Pavilion received awards in the following categories:

• Grand Prix / Gold – Spatial Experience > Concept for Spatial Experience > Architecture, Public & Urban Design > Architectural Installations

• Silver – Digital Media > Specials > Technological Experiment > Creative Technology Prototypes: Interactive Audio Guide – The Circulars

• Silver – Spatial Experience > Concept for Spatial Experience > Event > Event

• Silver – Spatial Experience > Concept for Spatial Experience > Exhibition > Museum & Pavilion Design

• Silver – Spatial Experience > Concept for Spatial Experience > Exhibition > Themed Exhibition

• Silver – Spatial Experience > Specials > For Good

• Bronze – Spatial Experience > Concept for Spatial Experience > Exhibition > Online & Hybrid Brand Exhibition

“With‘Wa! Germany !’, we have succeeded in presenting a positive and forward-looking image of Germany at the World Expo in Osaka. We are delighted that the German Pavilion has now also been recognised by the creative industry. It confirms just how important good design and clear communication are when complex topics such as the circular economy are to reach an international audience,” says Patrick Specht, General Commissioner of the German Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.

The Austrian Pavilion was also honoured with three ADC Nails. Under the title “Composing the Future”, the pavilion combined music, space and questions about the future to create a visitor experience that was both poetic and impressively designed. facts and fiction was responsible for the exhibition design and developed a concept that translated Austria’s cultural identity into a contemporary spatial narrative.

The Austrian Pavilion received awards in the following categories:

• Bronze – Spatial Experience > Concept for Spatial Experience > Architecture, Public & Urban Design > Architectural Installations

• Bronze – Spatial Experience > Concept for Spatial Experience > Event > Event

• Bronze – Spatial Experience > Craft for Spatial Experience > Direction & Creative Direction

“With national pavilions in particular, the aim is to translate complex identities and cultural self-images into an experience that resonates directly with people. This requires not only a strong idea, but also the interplay of design, space, media, dramaturgy and technology. The ADC awards recognise precisely this connection,” says Kirsten Koehler, Creative Director at facts and fiction.

Creativity as a unifying principle
With the awards for the German and Austrian pavilions, the ADC honours two very different concepts that have one thing in common: both demonstrate how creativity can make complex topics accessible, evoke emotions and facilitate international understanding within a space.

With “Wa! Germany!”, the German Pavilion presented a positive, forward-looking image of Germany and brought the circular economy to life as a societal challenge. The Austrian Pavilion translated a musical composition into a spatial experience and posed the question of how the future can be shaped collectively. Both projects demonstrate how architecture, content, scenography and multimedia presentation come together at a world exhibition to create powerful public experiences.

With the Grand Prix and the other ADC awards, facts and fiction continues its successful track record at world expos. The agency was involved in the design of the pavilions for Germany, Austria and the European Union at Expo 2025 Osaka. The agency’s work has previously received numerous accolades, including the BIE Award, the BrandEx Award, the German Design Award, EXHIBITOR Magazine’s World Expo Award and many other international competitions.

The ADC Competition
The ADC Competition honours outstanding work annually in the fields of communication, design, digital, spatial design, innovation and creative excellence. The ADC ‘Nägel’ are among the most prestigious awards in the German creative industry and are presented by a high-calibre jury of experts.