http://www.time.com/time/innovators/design/profile_ban2.

html#
http://www.archINFORM.de/arch/16695.htm http://www.assemblylanguage.com/reviews/Ban.html

Shigeru Ban at Gallery Ma by Monty DiPietro Shigeru Ban makes it look easy. Winner,
less than two years ago, of the Japan Institute of Architecture’s "Best Young Architect of the Year" award, Ban has
a knack for putting together structures whose design elements, while certainly not simple, are easy to grasp, even
for the layman. One reason for this may lie in Ban’s tendency to "pursue architecture with an invisible structure,"
a result the architect achieves, paradoxically, by concealing almost nothing in his buildings. But more than form,
it is the stuff his new structures are made of that cause Ban’s work to speak so clearly to our understanding – for
the 41 year-old architect is building buildings out of paper. An initial reaction that included at least a hint of
incredulity would be normal. Looking at photographs of some of Ban’s cardboard-tube houses, one may suspect that the
photos have been doctored. Paper and cardboard for the models, steel and cement for the actual structures, right?
Wrong. And stepping out onto the rear terrace of Gallery Ma to regard the cardboard-tube canopy erected overhead is
all the empirical evidence one needs to know, pure and simple, that Ban’s paper buildings are refreshingly real. One
of Tokyo’s premiere architectural showcases, Gallery Ma in Minato Ward is now presenting "Projects in Process," a
show of drawings, models, and documentation covering Ban’s work over the last several years and focusing on an
ongoing collaboration with Frei Otto for the Japanese pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hannover, Germany. A highlight of the
show is coverage of the shelters Ban designed while he was a consultant to the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR). Composed of plastic tarpaulins stretched over a cardboard-tube frame, the quick-construction
structures first appeared in Rwanda several years ago when UNHCR realized that their original policy of sending a
plastic sheet, instruction book and hatchet was leading refugees to cut down too many trees. When alternative
materials were considered for the shelters’ frame, the prospect of aluminum, for example, being sold-off by
unscrupulous elements in the distribution chain could not be discounted. Enter Ban’s cheap and lightweight cardboard
tubes. Ma has a full-scale refugee shelter installed in their second level exhibition space which visitors can enter
to watch a video documenting the project. But the star of the show has to be Ban’s recyclable Hannover 2000
pavilion, of which there are several large models and a fascinating collection of sketches, plans, and architect-
engineer correspondence. The structure’s truss roof is composed of cardboard tubes covered by a membrane of treated
paper, and rather resembles a low-rise biological version of one of Buckmaster Fuller’s geodesic domes. This is
attributable to input from German architect Frei Otto, whose life’s work studying membranes found in nature led to
such innovative structures as the West German pavilion at Montreal’s Expo ’67 and the Munich Olympic Stadium of
1972. While Otto’s input has seen Ban’s work become much more involved, there is still the very Japanese
transparency that Ban strives for in his structures. "I don’t think I’m a revolutionary architect," explains Ban, "I
am just using existing technology and materials in a different way." Be that as it may, as a veritable who’s who of
Tokyo art and architecture insiders circulate under the artist’s 10 meter high cardboard frame and paper-skin
canopy, there is a certain buzz in the air that compliments the childlike excitement in Ban’s eyes. There is a sense
here that Ban has arrived, and this is because "Projects in Process" is one of the most impressive exhibitions in
Tokyo right now. The bonus of fully-bilingual and easy-to-understand attendant texts and an excellent catalogue make
the show a wonderful introduction – even for those who have never visited an architectural exhibition in their lives
– to the work of one of the most fascinating architects in Japan today.
http://www.altavista.com/cgi-
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http://www.dnp.co.jp/millennium/SB/work-1_e.html A small library for a poet.
Prestressed paper tubes, with a diameter of 10 centimeters, a thickness of 12.5 millimeters, and reinforcing rods in
their hollow centers were combined with reinforcing braces to comprise trusses. Wood joints were used. This system
can be easily built by anybody without using any special techniques. The bookshelves are independent from the
trusses.
http://pweb.uunet.de/japan-gk.hh/Ban.htm SHIGERU BAN in Hamburg Ein
Dia-Abend der ganz besonderen Art erwartete am 13. September 2000 in der Freien Akademie der Künste etwa 120
fachlich beschlagene ebenso wie 'nur' an japanischer Kultur interessierte Zuhörer mit dem Vortrag des japanischen
Star-Architekten Shigeru Ban, der zur Zeit durch seinen japanischen Pavillon auf der EXPO in Hannover Furore macht.
In perfektem Englisch, das er während seiner Studien in den Vereinigten Staaten erwarb, führte der 42-Jährige durch
sein bisheriges Lebenswerk. Der seit 1985 freischaffende Architekt, dessen Werke rund um den Globus stehen oder in
Ausstellungen – u.a. Tokyo, Kobe, Osaka ebenso wie New York, Orleans, Bologna oder Venedig - zu bewundern waren,
lehrt auch an der Yokohama National University und der Nihon University in Tokyo. Bereits in den 80er Jahren, als
zur Zeit der 'bubble economy' der Umweltgedanke in Japan nicht gerade weit entwickelt war, befasste er sich mit
Materialien, die den natürlichen Ressourcen problemlos entnommen und wieder an sie zurückgegeben werden können. In
einem Land aufgewachsen, dessen Untergrund häufig nicht besonders tragfähig ist und ständig von Erdbeben bedroht
wird, setzte er seinen Ehrgeiz daran, ein leichtes Material zu finden, das zugleich preiswert, umweltschonend,
belastbar und ästhetisch ansprechend ist. Fündig wurde er im Papier, insonderheit Altpapier, aus dem er Pappröhren
entwickelte, mit deren Hilfe er fortan große Teile seine berühmten Bauten errichtete. So nebenbei designte er auch
Möbel aus Pappe, die wegen ihres geringen Gewichts bei Erdbeben nicht zur tödlichen Falle werden können. Die
Grundrisse seiner Häuser sind unterschiedlich, vom S-förmigen Haus über quadratische, rechteckige, trapez- bis hin
zu omegaförmigen Entwürfen reicht sein schier unerschöpfliches Repertoire. Der japanischen Tradition verpflichtete
offene Räume ohne Wände – den Wunsch nach Privatheit befriedigen nach Bedarf einzusetzende Schiebewände, -fenster
oder –türen -, dominierende Transparenz, kurze Bauzeit und preiswerte Materialien machen sein Credo aus.
Beeindruckend ist sein Haus mit doppeltem Dach am Lake Yamanaka (1993), dessen oberes Wellblechdach die Schneemassen
auszuhalten hat und dessen unteres der Luftzirkulation dient. In Tokyo steht das Haus mit rundum wallenden weißen
Vorhängen (1995) auf einem Grundriss von fünf nebeneinander liegenden Rechtecken, die je nach Lust und Laune als
zwei Außenhöfe und ein Innenhof genutzt werden. 9 Quadrate wiederum bilden die Raumeinteilung für sein 'Haus ohne
Wände', ein komplett mit Gleitwänden ausgestattetes Haus: sommers schläft man im Norden, winters im Süden. An eine
Halfpipe gar erinnern Boden und Rückwand aus Beton eines weiteren ungewöhnlichen Entwurfes. Erwähnenswert ist auch
das dreigeschossige Haus eines Zahnarztes (Tokyo 1994) mit Blick auf eine riesige Efeuwand. 1990 entstand Shigeru
Bans 2. Papiergebäude, die Villa Sekita am Lake Yamanaka. Die 300 8 m langen Papierröhren mit 53 cm Durchmesser
bedurften einer Ausnahmegenehmigung der Baugenehmigungsbehörden. Dafür gibt es darin eine ganz besondere Toilette in
einer ganz besonders dicken Röhre von 120 cm Durchmesser. Doch nicht nur Häuser zählen zu Shigeru Bans Repertoire,
1997 baute er den JR-Bahnhof von Tazawako, 1994 eine Galerie für Issei Miyake, den weltberühmten Modeschöpfer. In
seinem Vortrag schilderte Shigeru Ban, wie er zum Papier als stabiles Material fand. In einer Experimentierphase in
den 80-er Jahren begann er sich für "schwache", kostengünstige Materialien zu interessieren und war begeistert von
der Tragfähigkeit von Karton. Sein Wissen um dessen Stärke kam ihm 1995 beim Erdbeben von Kobe zugute, als er mit
Hilfe von Pappröhren stabile Behelfsunterkünfte aus dem Boden stampfen konnte; 1999 wiederum fanden diese Bauten
nach dem Erdbeben in der Türkei rasch zufriedene Bewohner. Die Fundamente dort waren übrigens mit Erdreich gefüllte
Bierkästen, das Dach bildeten Plastikplanen, die Shigeru Ban von japanischen Bauunternehmen geschenkt bekam, deren
Firmenlogos als erwünschter Nebeneffekt werbewirksam von CNN ins Bild gerückt wurden. Flüchtlingslager in Ruanda
profitierten 1994 von seinem Sinn für Praktisches, denn gerade für Menschen, die Schlimmes erfahren haben, ist es
seiner Meinung nach psychologisch aufbauend, in ansprechender Umgebung untergebracht zu sein. Das UNHCR in Genf
nutzte deshalb gerne seine Consultant-Dienste. Mit Bedauern, nur höchstens einmal im Jahr dort sein zu können,
zeigte er Dias seines Wochenendhauses: ein ätherisches Halbrund aus Papiersäulen, zu einer Seite hin offen und
überall Licht einlassend. Der Vergleich mit den Säulenkolonnaden griechischer Tempel ist gar nicht weit hergeholt.
Es sei, so betonte er, nicht teuer in der Herstellung gewesen. Ganz anderes Kaliber besitzt die katholische Kirche
in Kobe, die er nach dem großen Erdbeben und ursprünglich nur als Notbehelf gedacht aufbaute. Bernini war sein
Vorbild, als er Pappröhren um ein ovales, transparentes Dach platzierte; das Zentrum bildet eine Christusfigur, die
den zerstörerischen Kräften der Natur entgangen war. Shigeru Ban – Ausstellung in der galerie renate kammer /
architektur und kunst, Münzplatz 11, 20097 Hamburg, Tel. 040-23 26 51. Noch bis zum 22.10.2000, Di. – So. 12 bis 18
Uhr.
http://homepage2.nifty.com/workshops/ws_ts/ban01.htm Languages: GB, JAP Born in Tokyo in 1957, Shigeru Ban studied
at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (1977-80) and the Cooper Union School of Architecture, New York
(1980-2). On completion of his studies, he worked for Arata Isozaki, before establishing his own company in 1985.
His work includes exhibition design amongst others for the Alvaro Aalto exhibition in the Axis Galerie in Tokyo,
1986, as well as a multitude of architectonic projects including the Japanese pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hannover.
Shigeru Ban is not part of mainstream Japanese architecture. His mostly small buildings are experimental studies
which combine innovative constructions and a reductionist aesthetic. His light cardboard tube constructions are of
special note - they can also be built as emergency shelters in disaster areas. He made himself known to a broad
public in Europe with the Japanese Pavilion at EXPO 2000 in Hannover.
http://www.taiyokogyo.co.jp/compe/2000/e/e_jury15/e_ban.html Shigeru Ban Structural Engineer Van Structural Design
PROFILE 1938 Born in Fukuoka / Japan 1963 Graduated from Nihon University 1963-1998 Worked at Kajima Corporation
1998 Established Van Structural Design Awards 1991 "Japan structural Consultants Association Prise" (Akita Sky Dome)
1992 "the Gengo Matsui Prise " (Osaka Tokyo Marine Building) 1997 "Architectural Institute of Japan Annual Award
1997" 1997 "Insutitution of Structural engineers Special Award 1997" (Nagano Olympic Memorial Arena) Works 1983
"Akasaka Prince Hotel" 1985 "Kokugikan(Sumo Arena)" 1990 "Akita Sky Dome" 1990 "Osaka Tokyo Marine Building" 1992
"Izumo Dome" 1996 "Nagano Olympic Memorial Arena" 1996 "Fuji Televison" 1999 "Seibu Dome" Copyright(C)Shigeru Ban
http://www9.cnn.com/2000/STYLE/design/07/07/shigeru.ban/

Japanese architect pursues vision through paper

tubes From Elsa Klensch CNN Style Correspondent July 7, 2000 Web posted at: 4:41 p.m. EDT (2041 GMT) TOKYO (CNN) --
Shigeru Ban is an architect of radical vision, but also a man with a determination to see that vision realized. The
Tokyo-based designer is known for the homes, furniture and sculptures he makes from paper tubes, which are
inexpensive, easily recycled and can be made fireproof and waterproof. He calls the material an improved form of
wood. Ban's work is varied and widespread, including sturdy houses he designed for the homeless after earthquakes in
Kobe, Japan, in 1995 and Turkey in 1999. For his first U.S. project, he designed a soaring lattice arch that was
installed this year at New York's Museum of Modern Art, covering roughly a third of the sculpture garden. Ban -- who
won the Japan Institute of Architecture's "Best Young Architect of the Year" award in 1997 -- said the museum asked
him to build an experimental house, but he let his imagination roam. "Instead of building a single object in the
courtyard, I decided to cover the whole courtyard as part of the history of the development of the museum," he said.
"Because the museum is made by the different type of architecture designed by different architects, it's like a
garage of the different styles. So I thought, I can attach a new element into [the] existing building as part of the
garage." Ban also built a vast, paper-tube Japanese pavilion for Expo 2000, which opened in Hanover, Germany, in
June. The theme of the Expo is sustainable development, and the Japanese government chose Ban because his paper
tubes can be recycled. "Japanese government wanted to build a pavilion that met with environmental issues," he said.
"My concept is making the pavilion which can be recycled or reused after demolishing the building." Ban began
studying paper-tube technology in 1986, and used the tubes to build his own weekend residence near Tokyo, one that
he said was not inspired by traditional Japanese homes. Designing it in a big S-shaped circle, he retained the flow
between inside and out with clear walls and tent-like curtains, which can be drawn for privacy in summer and shut in
winter for warmth and insulation. Ban said he tries to link his interiors with the world outside. "I always like to
connect inside and outside space and make a kind of intermediate space in between," he said. "And actually, people
might think that is my influence from Japan." He's also high on the future of paper tubing. "If you take a look at
the history of architecture," he said, "when new material or new structure system invented, new architecture comes

out."
http://www.archilab.org/public/1999/artistes/shig01fr.htm Ressources Biographie Shigeru BAN (1957) 1977 / 1980 -
Southern California Institute of Architecture, Los Angeles. 1980 / 1982 - Cooper Union School of Architecture, New-
York. 1984 - Bachelor of Architecture, Cooper Union. 1985 - Fondation de l'Agence à Tokyo, Japon. 1995 - Consultant
du Haut Commissariat aux Réfugiés des Nations-Unies. Enseignement : 1996 - Université Nihon. 1995 - Université
Nationale Yokohama. 1995 / 1993 - Université Tama Art. Principaux projets et réalisations : 1998 - Paper Dôme, Gifu
; Furniture House #3, Kanagawa ; Ivy Structure House, Tokyo ; Issey Miyake Collection Stage Set Design, Paris . 1997
- Walls-less House, Karuizawa, Nagano ; JR Tazawako Station, Akita ; 9 Square Grid House, Kanagawa ; Forest Hanegi,
Tokyo ; Paper Stage Design, Kabukiza Theater, Tokyo, Paper Stage design for Mannojo Nomura, Tokyo. 1996 - Furniture
House #2, Fujisawa. 1995 - Paper Church - Paper Structure Tube #8 - Kobe, Hyogo ; Paper Loghouse - Paper Structure
Tube #7 - Kobe, Hyogo ; Paper House - Paper Structure Tube #5 - Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi ; Curtain Wall House, Tokyo
; Furniture House, Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi. 1994 - House of a dentist, Tokyo ; Paper Gallery, Tokyo. 1993 - House
of Double-roof, Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi ; Factory at Hamura - Dengyosya, Tokyo; Station Gallery, Tokyo. Expositions
récentes : 1998 - Gallery GA, "GA Japan League 98" - "GA House Project 98" ; "Architecture of the year 98" ; JIA
Prize for the best young Architect of the year. 1997 - Stool Exhibition 3, Living Design Center, Ozone ; Gallery GA;
"GA Japan League 97" ; Resurrection of Topos 3, Hillside Terrace Gallery. 1996 - Paper Church and volunteers,
Kenchikuka Club. Bibliographie Bibliographie sélective : 1999 - Gallery MA Books 12, " Shigeru Ban, Projects in
process to Japanese Pavilion, Expo 2000 Hannover ", Toto Shuppan ; Architecture d'Aujourd'hui (janv.), France ; GA
Houses n°59, Japon ; AIT (mars), Allemagne. 1998 - JA n°30, Shinkenchiku-Sha ; " Paper Tube Architecture from Kobe
to Rwanda ", Chikuma Shobo Publishing Co. Ltd. ; The Architectural Review (janv.et nov.), Grande-Bretagne ; Domus
(juil./août), Italie ; Detail (juil./août), Allemagne ; AV 72 (juil./août), Espagne ; ID (fév.), USA ; Korean
Architect (fév.), Corée. 1997 - GG Portfolio, Gustavo Gili ; Abitare (mars et août), Italie ; Form (mai), Suède ;
Arquitectura Viva n°52, Espagne ; Monthly Design (mars), Corée. 1996 - Architecture d'Aujourd'hui (sept.) ; The
Architectural Review (sept.) ; Detail (août) ; De Architect (juil./août), Hollande ; l'Arca (juil./août), Italie ;
ARK (fév./mars), Finlande ; Architecture (oct.), USA ; Ambiante (nov./déc.), Allemagne ; Leonardo (mars), Allemagne.
1995 - The Architectural Review (août) ; Living Architecture n°14, Danemark ; Bauwelt (nov.), Allemagne ;
Architecture et Defi Ecologique (oct./nov.), France. 1994 - Abitare (novembre, décembre et) ; l'Arca (déc.) ;
Interni (nov.), Italie. 1993 - Metropolis (déc.), USA. 1987 - Abitare Annual 9.
http://www.thinkpop.org/html/174style_stories.asp PopStyle Last Updated: 9/19/2000 presented by The
PopSustainability Organization Shigeru Ban Function, Form and Beauty by Lily Dougherty-Johnson Imagine the day when
your house comes with a little sticker proudly proclaiming that it is composed of 99% recycled materials. That day
may not be far off, thanks to architect Shigeru Ban. Actually, Ban has already made it a reality (sans stickers) in
such wide-ranging situations as temporary shelters for homeless refugees in Rwanda and Japan to a gallery for
fashion designer Issey Miyake. The Tokyo based architect has made a name for himself within the architectural world
with his revolutionary introduction of paper tubes as a working building material. Ban seems the antithesis of our
worst stereotype of the profession - the egotistical architect who speaks only in theoretical, academic language and
designs spaces that are wildly impractical, fantastically expensive, and bear no relationship to the needs of those
who may use the space or consider the effect that design may have on the ecosystem and the society it inhabits. That
is not to say that Ban is not concerned with aesthetics - some of his designs are gorgeous, fantastic examples of
what, for lack of a better term, we call buildings. But he is equally proud of the simple tent he designed for
Rwandan refugees. He balances extraordinary aesthetic and technical skill with heartfelt humanitarian and
environmental concern. When Ban first used paper tubing in his designs in 1986, the environmental movement was still
in its infancy. Japan, which was just entering a period of unprecedented economic growth, seemed particularly
unconcerned about issues such as recycling. In fact, the birth of "paper architecture" was less a calculated move
towards sustainable building practices than the creative solution of a young architect who never threw anything away
and had limited funds for his projects. Planning an exhibition inspired by an architect who used lots of wood, but
constrained by a small budget for materials, Ban came across some paper tubes lying in his studio, leftover from a
previous project. Not only were they about the same color as wood, but as he investigated further, Ban found that
paper tubes met his financial needs and also came in a variety of sizes, lengths, thicknesses, and diameters. After
successfully using the pieces to comprise the walls and ceiling of the space, he found that the paper tubes were
actually surprisingly strong and began to consider them as alternative structural materials. Because of limited time
for the design process, Ban used steel as the main structural material for the Odawara Pavilion, the main hall for a
six-month celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the city of Odawara, Japan in 1990. But all the interior and
exterior walls, as well as the toilet booths, were comprised of paper tubes with transparent hose between them to
seal up the structure and allow streaks of ambient light inside. Paper tubes together with newly developed simple
metal joints served as structural elements in the main gate of the venue. In his next paper tube structure, Library
of a Poet, built in 1991, Ban took the concept one step further, using pre-stressed paper tubes with reinforcing
rods in their hollow centers as trusses. The paper tube trusses successfully served as the structural skeleton of
the building. Subsequently, in 1993, Japan’s Minister of Construction authorized the use of paper tubes as
structural materials for permanent building structures in conformity with current legal building standards. Ban was
well on his way to revolutionizing architecture with this new technology. He created Paper Gallery for fashion
designer Issey Miyake in 1994: a narrow, gently curving space in which the paper tube columns form impressive load-
bearing walls. But Ban is not merely obsessed with paper. He is always seeking new and better structural methods and
materials. His desire is to create designs that use low-cost materials and are relatively easy to assemble, but also
succeed in terms of aesthetics and livability. In this vein, he designed a series of houses based around factory-
made wood furniture as the main structural element. Because, of course, what is a house without furniture? Instead
of treating furniture as merely an element of space composition, or worse, ignoring it all together, in Furniture
House, built in 1995, the readymade shelving serves as load-bearing walls for the building. Promising in its simple
construction, preciseness, and reduced costs, this method is another brilliant example of Ban marrying function with
form and beauty with practicality. If these traits seem rare in Ban’s profession, what makes him even more unique is
his involvement in and awareness of events around the globe, and his ability to apply his skills and devotion as an
architect to the daily events of the world. The horrible conditions in the Rwandan refugee camps was being widely
reported in 1994: large number of refugees were coming down with pneumonia as the rainy season started because the
tents provided by the United Nations could not keep out the cold and rain. Facing the prospect of more than two
million people attempting to stay warm and dry under the small plastic sheet of shabby shelters in the coming
months, Ban contacted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to offer his help. Taking Ban on as
a consultant, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) explained that the temporary housing policy of
sending plastic sheets, hatchets, and instructional manuals was also leading to excessive deforestation in the area.
Alternative proposed materials, such as aluminum, were discarded for fear they might be sold off in black markets
before reaching those in need. Ban's paper tubes plus plastic sheets were a cheap, lightweight solution that was
easy to transport and unlikely to somehow disappear along the way. With the UNHCR, Ban developed 3 prototypes for
short-term shelters and tested them for durability and waterproof performance. In a new project for mid-to-long-term
use shelters, the team is trying to encourage the use of paper tubes as a replacement for timber, which currently
serves as the frame for a shelter of traditional mud walls topped with plastic sheet roofs. Ban was given another
opportunity to hone his skills as architect-humanitarian soon after. In January 1995, an earthquake caused
devastation in Kobe, Japan. Buildings themselves caused death and injury to so many, and although none were built or
designed by Ban, he felt responsible as an architect and wanted to use his skills and insight to help. Because of
his experience in working with refugees, he went to Kobe to work with the Vietnamese ex-refugee community whose
entire neighborhood had been destroyed in the earthquake. There, with the help of community members and other
volunteers, he designed and built probably his most famous paper tube structure, Paper Church. This amazing
structure serves as a multi-purpose community space and recreates the feel of a magnificent cathedral, with columns
of paper tubes and natural light streaming in from the ceiling of tent material. Along with the community center,
Ban also designed and helped realize the construction of more than twenty Paper Log Houses to serve as temporary
housing for the earthquake victims. These smart, simple structures afforded the earthquake victims a dignified place
from which to rebuild their lives. This design seems to be the ideal in temporary emergency housing. Materials are
cheap, and can be procured on site; beer cases (plastic boxes which hold bottled beer) filled with sandbags serve as
the house’s foundation, paper tubes form the wall, and a double tent is used for the ceiling and roof. The total
cost of materials amounts to only about 250,000 yen per house, and local governments can save money on storage and
transportation because they do not have to keep materials in stock. In addition, the structure can be built and
dismantled quickly by people with little knowledge of building construction. And it’s recyclable! "I don’t think I’m
a revolutionary architect," explains Ban. “I am just using existing technology and materials in a different way."
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22shigeru+ban%22&hl=en&start=30&sa=N