Miyake Design Studio Gallery, by Shigeru Ban, 1994 - in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
The building’s plan is based upon the Grecian agora - a space created simply by columns and shade. The outer row of paper tubes cast striped shadows across the floor, which change during the day, and provide a sense of animation. The ceiling casts a curved shadow on the paper tube and chairs were created specifically for this space.
Paper House, by Shigeru Ban, 1995 - in Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi, Japan
An S-shape configuration comprised of 110 paper tubes defines the interior and exterior areas of the paper house. The large circle formed by the interior tubes forms a big area. A freestanding paper tubes column with a 1.2m diameter in the surrounding gallery contains a toilet. The exterior paper tubes surrounding the courtyard stand apart from the structure and serve as a screen. The living area in the large circle is without furnishing or detail other than an isolated kitchen counter, sliding doors, and movable closets. When the perimeter sashes are opened, the roof, supported by the colonnade of paper tubes, is visually emphasized and a spatial continuity is created between the surrounding gallery space and the outdoor terrace.
Japan Pavilion EXPO 2000, by Shigeru Ban, 2000 - in Hannover, Germany
Curtain Wall House, by Shigeru Ban, 1995 - in Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, Japan
The clients wanted a contemporary home that would carry out the openness
of the traditional japanese house.
The project, situated on an constricted intersection in Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, consists of an elegantly spare two-floor block of open living spaces sandwiched between a large, overhanging triangular roof and deck that extend almost
to the curb line.
Around the perimeter of the triangle Shigeru Ban hung billowing white curtains that can be opened or closed to
regulate the degree of transparency between interior and exterior.
‘Mies invented the glass curtain wall’, Ban explained, ‘but I just used a curtain’.
Paper Tea House, by Shigeru Ban
A tea house, constructed of square paper tubes, is a structure designed for indoor use measuring just over 5 meters long. Housing a table and four stools, the house also features a waiting area with a bench in keeping with tea ceremony practice.
Library for a poet, by Shigeru Ban,1991 - in Kanagawa, Japan
This library was built as an annex to a house and was influenced by the Odawara Pavilion, which the owner had seen. He felt that a paper library would be best suited to house paper books. The paper tubes used in the library are 100mm in diameter and 12mm thick. Post-tensioned steel wires were used for the spanning sections. The four floor to ceiling bookshelves along the sides of the room are structurally independent of the paper tubes and are cantilevered off the floor, absorbing the horizontal load. The bookshelves, which contain insulating material and have an exterior finish, were fabricated separately at a factory.
