Famous for his usage of paper as an architectural component, particularly recycled cardboard paper tubes used to quickly and efficiently house disaster victims, Ban shakes much of architectural conventions. He doesn’t only use an unusual palette, he also designs structures that don’t have very long lives and used out of recycleable materials. He just doesn’t like waste.
Takatori Catholic Church, Hyogo, Japan. Designed by Shigeru Ban
Ban is not interested in the ‘newest’ materials and techniques, but whether or not the building or design is serving its conceptual and functional purpose. The clients for the 1995 curtain wall house, for instance, wanted a contemporary home that would have the openness of the traditional Japanese house. In his design, two-floor block of open living space is sandwiched between a large, overhanging triangular roof and deck that extend almost to the curbed line. Around the perimeter of the triangle Ban hung billowing white curtain that can be opened or closed to regulate the degree of transparency between interior and exterior. When he was reminded that Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe invented the glass curtain wall, he said, ‘but I just used a curtain’.
Curtain Wall House, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, exterior
Curtain Wall House, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, interior