“Architects are not building temporary housing because we are too busy building for the privileged people…. I’m not saying I’m against building monuments, but I’m thinking we can work more for the public.” - Shigeru Ban, Pritzker Prize, 2014 "Certainly the architect Shigeru Ban is one of our era's prime examples of this kind of visionary. The [then] 56-year-old Ban, born in Japan and educated in the United States, has been rethinking and un-thinking stale conventional architectural ideas for 20 years-- most radically, making humanitarian buildings quickly out of paper tubes for people affected by natural disasters. Finally the rest of the world is catching up: He's the 2014 winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, his profession's version of the Nobel Prize." - Ted Loos ― Cultured In 1994, after seeing photographs of the plastic sheets given to Rwandan refugees to live under, Shigeru Ban went to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to propose ideas for better shelters. Since then, Ban has been critically heralded for his innovative approaches to environmentally sound architecture and his devotion to humanitarian efforts in the wake of some of the most devastating natural and man-made disasters. His temporary housing has employed everything from plastic beer cartons to paper tubes to create ingeniously flexible spaces. By sourcing unconventional, recycled, inexpensive, local and sustainable materials, he stimulates devastated economies by involving local resources and labor. These works stem from empathy and have restored shelter and gathering places, offering comfort, protection and dignity to stricken communities around the world. This important volume is the first book-length study to collect, catalogue and examine Shigeru Ban's architectural responses to disaster relief. Essays and discussions of individual projects, drawings in the artist's hand, instruction manuals, diverse photographs and a timeline and map make an essential compendium for the most personal and relevant aspect of Ban's work. The book is a major contribution to the broad subjects of humanitarian relief and sustainable design solutions and provides an inspiring testament to Ban's ongoing dedication to our planet and its people. Born in Tokyo in 1957, Shigeru Ban studied at the Southern California Institute of Architecture and went on to Cooper Union's School of Architecture where he studied under John Hejduk. At age 48, Ban won the 2005 Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture from the University of Virginia. He was profiled by Time in their projection of twenty-first-century innovators in the field of architecture and design. Ban was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2014. Product Details: By Shigeru Ban* ISBN: 9780934324649 Published: Oct. 31, 2014 by D.A.P. & Aspen Art Press Pages: 280, Hardcover Dimensions: 9.2 x 1.1 x 13 inches Weight: 4 lbs. *By Shigeru Ban, with contributions from: Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson (Contributor), Claude Bruderlein (Contributor), Naomi Pollock (Contributor), & Eyal Weizman (Contributor) About the Author: Born in Tokyo in 1957, Ban graduated from the Cooper Union with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1984. He founded Shigeru Ban Architects in 1985 and later established offices in New York and Paris. Since 1985, Ban has developed a unique structural system using recycled paper as a building material and, alongside his architectural work, has been engaged in disaster relief efforts worldwide. In 1995, he founded a nonprofit organization named Voluntary Architects’ Network (VAN). He is the recipient of le grade de commandeur of L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France (2014), the Pritzker Architecture Prize (2014), the Mother Teresa Social Justice Award (2017), the Princess of Asturias Award for Concord (2022), and the Praemium Imperiale for Architecture (2024). His major works include Centre Pompidou Metz (2010, France), Cardboard Cathedral (2013, NZ), La Seine Musicale (2017, France), Mt. Fuji World Heritage Centre Shizuoka (2017, France), Tainan Art Museum (2019), SIMOSE (2023), and Toyota City Museum (2024). From 2023 he serves as Special Guest Professor at Shibaura Institute of Technology. In March 2025, he was named as a new member of the Japan Art Academy and in October 2025 as a Person of Cultural Merit by the Japanese Government. For his architectural, cultural, and humanitarian contributions, Ban has been honored as a Pritzker Laureate, and the recipient of L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the National Order of the Legion of Honor in France, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture, and the Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice. He has been awarded as the recipient of the 2026 AIA Gold Medal as the fourth to receive this honor among Japanese architects.
