Media artist Yoichi Ochiai has announced two new projects evolving from null², the signature pavilion he produced for the Osaka-Kansai World Expo. The first is a permanent immersive theater called null²ⁿ ("Nuru Nuru Nexus") opening at Yokohama Landmark Tower in 2026, and the second is a new work titled null⁴ ("Tetra Nuru") set to appear at the International Horticultural Expo 2027, Yokohama, Japan in March 2027.
What Is null²?
null² (pronounced "Nuru Nuru") was the signature pavilion produced by Yoichi Ochiai at the Osaka-Kansai World Expo (April 13 – October 13, 2025). Grounded in a concept that merges Buddhist philosophy's notion of "emptiness" (空, ku) with the computer science term "null," the installation combined special mirror film, LED lighting, and robotics into an immersive experiential artwork. The installation embodied Ochiai's "computational nature" vision — a world where the digital and physical blend through mirrored surfaces — and drew approximately 600,000 visitors over the course of the Expo.
The work earned numerous awards, including first place in Casa BRUTUS's "Best Architecture & Design Pavilion" ranking, the Minna no Kenchiku Grand Prize 2026, and a Silver Prize at the JCD/DSA Japan Space Design Awards. A post-Expo crowdfunding campaign to relocate the pavilion raised over ¥281.5 million from 15,821 backers, surpassing ¥100 million within just 23 hours.
Part 1: null²ⁿ — Permanent Immersive Theater at Yokohama Minato Mirai (Opening 2026)
null²ⁿ ("Nuru Nuru Nexus") will be a permanent immersive theater opening inside Yokohama Landmark Tower in the Minato Mirai district. It expands and inherits the interior experience of null², reconstructed around the core theatrical elements from the Osaka-Kansai Expo with new zones added. As its "ⁿ (Nexus)" name suggests, the space is intended to function as a permanent hub deepening the connection between null² and its visitors, with regular events and community activities also planned.
The theater will integrate with the "Mirrored Body®" app, creating a "computational nature experience ecosystem" bridging city and nature, body and digital. Visitors who created digital avatars at the Expo will be able to reconnect with their digital doubles when they visit Yokohama.
Venue: Yokohama Landmark Tower
Opening: 2026 (permanent installation)
Official website: https://null2.nexus
Part 2: null⁴ — A New Work at International Horticultural Expo 2027, Yokohama, Japan (March 2027)
null⁴ ("Tetra Nuru") is described not as a relocation of null², but as its "reincarnation." The work — a landscape-transforming sculpture — will be installed within the SATOYAMA Village area of the International Horticultural Expo 2027, Yokohama, Japan. Like null², it is a signature work of producer Yoichi Ochiai.
Featuring rotating mirrored surfaces that capture garden flowers, sky, wind, and the shadows of visitors, null⁴ transforms the surrounding landscape while responding interactively to the space as a living computational-nature sculpture. Four structures representing the philosophical concept of the tetralemma, together with a giant object resembling a rotating mani wheel, continuously absorb light, landscape, and the presence of people. Through a movement that seems to distill the soul, computational nature continues its digital fermentation, initiating a new cycle between environment and perception.
Period: March 19, 2027 – September 26, 2027
Venue: SATOYAMA Village, International Horticultural Expo 2027, Yokohama, Japan
Official website: https://expo2027.digitalnatureandarts.or.jp
A Comment from Yoichi Ochiai
"'null²,' born on the soil of Osaka, created a new landscape where computational nature, humans and AI, digital and physical dissolve together. Next comes Yokohama. Within Minato Mirai, we will once let go of the 'symbol,' and then encounter the new reality of computational nature deep in the forests of Kamiseya. This journey of computational nature — straddling city and nature, 'nowhere yet everywhere' — will become a grand ritual affirming the beautiful 'four sufferings and eight pains' of humanity in the age of AI. Farewell, Homo Sapiens. And welcome back, the Forest of Null."
The Mirrored Body® App
The "Mirrored Body®" app, experienced by 170,000 visitors at the Osaka Expo, connects with both null²ⁿ in Yokohama and null⁴ at the International Horticultural Expo 2027, Yokohama, Japan. Users' digital doubles sync directly with the spatial presentations at each venue, letting visitors experience the world of computational nature — where digital and physical space dissolve — alongside their own AI avatars.
