Architect · Japan · born 1957
Shigeru Ban Biography, Buildings and Best Books
Japanese architect (born 1957) known for innovative paper-tube structures and humanitarian disaster-relief work, from the Paper Log House to the Centre Pompidou-Metz.
Photo: 準建築人手札網站, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Biography
Shigeru Ban (born 1957) is a Japanese architect known for his inventive use of paper tubes, cardboard and timber, and for decades of humanitarian work building shelters for victims of natural disasters. He received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2014.
Education
Born in Tokyo, Ban studied at the Southern California Institute of Architecture and at the Cooper Union in New York, where he was taught by John Hejduk and graduated in 1984. He worked briefly for Arata Isozaki before opening his own office in Tokyo in 1985.
Paper Architecture
Beginning with an exhibition design for Alvar Aalto in 1986, Ban developed paper tubes as a structural material: cheap, recyclable and surprisingly strong. His series of Case Study Houses, including the Curtain Wall House, the Wall-less House and the Naked House, explored universal floor plans, movable walls and new structural systems.
Humanitarian Work
After the 1995 Kobe earthquake he built Paper Log Houses and a paper church for displaced residents and founded the Voluntary Architects’ Network. He has since designed emergency shelters and community buildings after disasters in Rwanda, Turkey, India, Haiti and Japan, as well as the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Major Works
His larger buildings include the Japan Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hannover, the Centre Pompidou-Metz with its woven timber roof, the Aspen Art Museum, La Seine Musicale near Paris and the Swatch and Omega headquarters in Biel, Switzerland.
Shigeru Ban: Complete Works 1985-Today
Philip Jodidio’s 688-page TASCHEN monograph is the most complete record of Ban’s work, from the paper tube structures and Case Study Houses to his disaster-relief shelters and large timber buildings.
View on AmazonLooking for a shorter introduction? Shigeru Ban, TASCHEN Basic Art Series (96 pages).
Timeline
- 1957Born on 5 August in Tokyo.
- 1984Graduates from the Cooper Union School of Architecture in New York.
- 1985Founds Shigeru Ban Architects in Tokyo.
- 1986Uses paper tubes for the first time, in an exhibition design for Alvar Aalto.
- 1995Builds Paper Log Houses after the Kobe earthquake and founds the Voluntary Architects’ Network.
- 1997Completes the Wall-less House in Nagano.
- 2000Completes the Naked House in Saitama and the Japan Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hannover.
- 2010The Centre Pompidou-Metz opens in France.
- 2013Completes the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand.
- 2014Receives the Pritzker Architecture Prize; the Aspen Art Museum opens.
- 2017Completes La Seine Musicale near Paris and the Mount Fuji World Heritage Centre.
- 2019Completes the Swatch and Omega headquarters in Biel, Switzerland.
Best Books on Shigeru Ban
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Shigeru Ban known for?
Shigeru Ban is known for structures built from paper tubes and cardboard, for innovative timber architecture, and for humanitarian shelters built after natural disasters around the world. He received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2014.
What are Shigeru Ban’s most famous buildings?
His most celebrated works include the Paper Log Houses in Kobe (1995), the Curtain Wall House (1995), the Naked House (2000), the Japan Pavilion at Expo 2000, the Centre Pompidou-Metz (2010), the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch (2013) and La Seine Musicale (2017).
What is the best book about Shigeru Ban?
For a complete overview we recommend Shigeru Ban: Complete Works 1985-Today by Philip Jodidio (TASCHEN). For a short introduction, choose Shigeru Ban from the TASCHEN Basic Art series, and for his disaster-relief work, Shigeru Ban: Humanitarian Architecture.
What architectural style is Shigeru Ban?
Ban works within a light, experimental modernism rooted in Japanese tradition, defined less by style than by structural invention, sustainable materials and social purpose.
Where can you visit Shigeru Ban’s buildings?
The Centre Pompidou-Metz in France, La Seine Musicale near Paris, the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado, the Mount Fuji World Heritage Centre and the Swatch headquarters in Biel are all open to visitors.
