Shigeru Ban, A Humanitarian Architect
Introduction
One of the most famous and compelling architects of our time, Shigeru Ban navigates between designing famous buildings and his desire to produce humanitarian interventionist architecture. His practice, similar to Kengo Kuma, emphasizes the Japanese tradition of materiality, responsibility and adaptability, as well as the need for architecture to serve people and society.
“Architects mostly work for privileged people, people who have money and power. Power and money are invisible, so people hire us to visualize their power and money by making monumental architecture. I love to make monuments, too, but I thought perhaps we can use our experience and knowledge more for the general public, even for those who have lost their houses in natural disasters.”
Early History & Career
Born in Tokyo (1957), Ban studied at theSouthern California Institute of Architecture and the Cooper Union in New York. After graduating in 1984, he set up his own practice Shigeru Ban Architects. From his early work, we can tell that Ban did not set up to create another traditional practice, but rather he began exploring with unconventional materials and structural systems, including being one of the pioneer architects who mastered paper tubes, bamboo, shipping containers and having a sense of purpose of serving those in need. In 2014, he was awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, recognizing not only his commercial work but his humanitarian efforts using architecture to serve displaced populations.
Philosophy in Design
1. Material Innovation & “Humility of Material”
Perhaps Ban is often most famous for his question: What can a modest material do?. He opens every project with this question, and develops structures out of ‘modest’ materials like paper, bamboo and even cardboard. He quotes “My development was using more humble material, or weaker material. The strength of the material has nothing to do with the strength of the building.” Yet for Ban, Material is always ethical and structural, he uses recycled materials and believes in minimizing waste, being a ‘green architect’.
2. Temporary vs. Permanent — Redefining Architecture
Some key revolving questions:
“If a “temporary” structure lasts 20 years and becomes beloved, is it still temporary?”
“What is the definition of a temporary structure? What is the definition of a permanent structure?”
Yet despite this hesitancy between permanent structures and temporary ones, his famous “paper log houses” and paper church projects were thought of for shorte term use, but ended up serving communities for much longer.
3. Social Responsibility & Humanitarian Architecture
His core belief perhaps, is that architecture should not serve the rich, but rather the most vulnerable. He founded the NGO Voluntary Architect’s Network ( VAN) to produce structures for disaster relief globally.
“I’d become tired of working for privileged, powerful people.”
Signature Methods & Tools
Paper-tube systems: Ban developed load-bearing paper tubes (often coated for weather-proofing) for shelters in Rwanda (1994) and the “Paper Log House” in Kobe (1995). (macmillan.yale.edu)
Rapid prototyping for relief: His architecture teams often mobilize quickly after disasters, using standardized modules and local labor.
Modular & recyclable construction: Many of his temporary structures are designed to be dismantled, relocated or repurposed.
Integration of commercial & humanitarian: While Ban designs luxury museums (e.g., Centre Pompidou‑Metz, France) his humanitarian projects reflect the same structural rigor and design thinking, blurring boundary between “high architecture” and “relief architecture”.
Selected Major Works
Paper Log House, Kobe, Japan (1995) – made post-earthquake from paper tubes and beer-crate foundations, intended as temporary housing.
Japan Pavilion, Expo 2000, Hannover, Germany – an undulating grid of paper tubes in collaboration with Frei Otto.
Cardboard Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand (2013) – temporary cathedral built from cardboard tubes after 2011 earthquake.
Centre Pompidou-Metz (2010) – sophisticated museum with laminated timber roof, showing Ban’s transition into large-scale cultural architecture.
Perhaps the most unique and compelling element about Ban is his ability to operate across extremes of scale, purpose and permanence through his design philosophy. His stark contrast in work, from shelters built in just a few days to large scale commercial projects like Centre Pompidou Metz, yet being driven by the same intellectual framework – adaptive architecture– is mesmerizing. Ban refuses to distinguish between the architecture of crisis and the architecture of culture; both deserve the same care, precision, and dignity. In this way, he redefines the architect’s social contract, showing that thoughtful design can serve not only the privileged but also the displaced and vulnerable.
Ban’s approach is also unique in how it embeds ethics directly into form. His materials — paper tubes, bamboo, timber, fabric membranes are chosen to reflect sustainability, yet a human centric narrative of different conditions. By treating recycled and low-cost materials as expressions of hope and continuity, Ban challenges the industry’s obsession with permanence and luxury. For him, architecture is not a static monument but a living response — to disaster, to context, to time. This is why his work blurs the boundary between temporary and permanent: a shelter designed for a few weeks may serve for years, while a museum can be designed to dismantle gracefully.
