Architect Shigeru Ban: I Am Disappointed in Architects | Louisiana Channel

“We are not working for society. We are mainly working for privileged people.” Meet Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, best known for his unique use of recycled paper tubes as a building structure.
“I’m quite disappointed about my own profession as an architect,” Shigeru Ban states. “We are mainly working for privileged people who have power and money.” With an urge to change this, Ban started thinking about what he could do as an architect. He started looking into natural disaster areas because “I realised that earthquake never kills people; the collapse of a building kills people.” Looking at the poor living conditions of people in these areas of the world, Shigeru Ban came up with the idea of using recycled paper tubes as a structure for temporary housing. The material is not only cheap and sustainable, it’s also available “almost anywhere in the world.”
When Shigeru Ban saw what was happening in Rwanda in 1994, Ban went to Geneva to suggest the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees use the paper tube structure to build temporary housing for the many refugees. Even today, the temporary housing structure is used worldwide, from Turkey to Ukraine.
“Many people consider that I’m an environmentally friendly architect, but it’s not really true,” Shigeru Ban says and continues: “When I started using recycled paper material in 1985, nobody was interested in recycling. So, I didn’t start because of this environmental movement.” Ban was influenced by architects Buckminster Fuller and Frei Otto, who created their own structural material. “I started to make the paper tube structure to make my own style.”
Shigeru Ban (b. 1957) is a Japanese architect known for his innovative work with recycled cardboard tubes, which he used to quickly and efficiently house disaster victims. In the 1980s, he studied under John Hejduk at Cooper Union’s School of Architecture in the United States. Notable buildings include Centre Pompidou-Metz in France, Cardboard Cathedral in New Zealand, and the Aspen Art Museum. Shigeru Ban has won several awards, including the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize 2014. He is currently a professor at Keio University.
Shigeru Ban was interviewed by Jens H. Jensen at Simose Art Museum, which he designed, in Hiroshima in March 2023.
Camera: Yudai Maruyama
Edited by Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen
Produced by Christian Lund
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2024
Louisiana Channel is supported by Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond, Ny Carlsbergfondet, and C.L. Davids Fond og Samling. This film is supported by Dreyersfond and Fritz Hansen.
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