Shigeru Ban builds houses with paper tubes

Historically, famous architects design buildings for the wealthy. Shigeru Ban is one exception to this tradition. He maintains a hand in each of the projects of his company, Shigeru Ban Architects, whose three offices (Tokyo, New York, and Paris) focus on a few projects rather than mega-structures. And his overarching desire is to bring architecture to all classes.

Mr. Ban is known for using recyclable materials such as paper tubes — waterproof and fire-resistant — to provide temporary shelter for victims of Kobe’s earthquake in 1995. He has also built schools in Sichuan, China, and a music hall in L’Aquila, Italy, after these regions experienced devastating quakes.

When interviewed by the Wall Street Journal about his hope for the profession to become more socially responsible, Ban shared that architects are an important piece to the success of recovery efforts in disaster areas. “We are responsible for disasters. After an earthquake, when a building collapses…it is not because of the earthquake itself but because of the structure of the building. That is the responsibility of the architect.”

For more on Ban, tune into the WSJ interview.