Who is Shigeru Ban? Shigeru Ban (born 5 August 1957, Tokyo) is the Japanese architect who made paper a serious building material — and the winner of the 2026 AIA Gold Medal, announced in December 2025. A 2014 Pritzker Prize laureate, Ban leads a double practice: celebrated permanent works such as the Centre Pompidou-Metz and the Cardboard Cathedral, and humanitarian shelters in recyclable paper tubes deployed through his Voluntary Architects’ Network since 1995. The 15 works below show both sides.
| Quick facts | Shigeru Ban |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 August 1957, Tokyo, Japan |
| Education | SCI-Arc, then Cooper Union, New York (graduated 1984, under John Hejduk) |
| Major honours | Pritzker Prize 2014 · Princess of Asturias Award for Concord 2022 · Person of Cultural Merit, Japan 2025 · AIA Gold Medal 2026 |
| Humanitarian work | Voluntary Architects’ Network (f. 1995): paper shelters and partition systems from Kobe (1995) and Rwanda to Turkey, India, Nepal (2015) and displaced families from the war in Ukraine (2022) |
| Signature works | Curtain Wall House (1995) · Japan Pavilion, Expo 2000 Hannover · Centre Pompidou-Metz (2010) · Cardboard Cathedral, Christchurch (2013) · Tamedia, Zurich (2013) · La Seine Musicale, Paris (2017) |
| Teaching | Professor at Keio University; formerly Harvard, Columbia and Cornell |
Shigeru Ban (born 1957 in Tokyo) won the 2014 Pritzker Prize as much for whom he builds for as for how: the same cardboard tubes that frame his Paper Log Houses for disaster survivors also vault the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch and the timber lattice of Centre Pompidou-Metz. These 15 works trace an architect who treats humanitarian shelters and museum commissions as one continuous practice.
Shigeru Ban’s Famous Works at a Glance
| Project | Location | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Cardboard Cathedral | Christchurch, New Zealand | 2013 |
| Centre Pompidou-Metz | Metz, France | 2010 |
| Metal Shutter Houses | New York City, USA | 2010 |
| Paper Log House | Kobe, Japan | 1995 |
| Tamedia Office Building | Zurich, Switzerland | 2013 |
| Curtain Wall House | Tokyo, Japan | 1995 |
| Nicolas G. Hayek Center | Ginza, Tokyo, Japan | 2007 |
| Nomadic Museum | Pier 54, New York City, USA | 2005 |
| Naked House | Saitama, Japan | 2000 |
| New Temporary House (disaster-relief housing) | Multiple sites | — |
| Furniture House 1 | Yamanashi, Japan | 1995 |
| Japan Pavilion, Expo 2000 (with Frei Otto) | Hanover, Germany | 2000 |
| Double Roof House | Yamanashi, Japan | 1993 |
| Paper Temporary Studio | Centre Pompidou rooftop, Paris, France | 2004 |
| Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Clubhouse | Yeoju, South Korea | 2010 |
Pritzker-winning Shigeru Ban is a Japanese Architect, famous for his innovative work with paper, particularly cardboard tubes, to quickly and efficiently house disaster victims. He is one of the few world-famous Architects who is dedicated to humanitarian efforts around the World.
Here are the 15 works of Shigeru Ban every architect should visit:
1. Cardboard Cathedral, New Zealand
Year: 2013
Type: Church
Location: New Zealand
2. Centre Pompidou-Metz, France
Year: 2010
Type: Cultural
Location: Metz, France
3. Metal Shutters House, NewYork
Year: 2011
Type: Apartment
Location: 524 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011, USA
4. Paper Log House, Japan
Year: 1995
Type: Temporary Structure
Location: Kobe, Japan
5. Tamedia Office Building, Switzerland
Year: 2013
Type: Office Building
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
6. Curtain Wall House, Japan
Year: 1993-1995
Type: Housing
Location: Tokyo, japan
7. Nicolas G. Hayek Center, Japan
Year: 2008
Type: Commercial
Location: Tokyo, Japan
8. Nomadic Museum, New York
Year: 2005
Type: Museum
Location: New York
9. Naked House, Japan
Year: 2000
Type: Housing
Location: Saitama, Japan
10. New Temporary House
Year: 2013
Type: Housing Prototype
11. Furniture House 1, Japan
Year: 1995
Location: Yamanashi, Japan
12. Japan Pavilion EXPO 2000 Hannover – Germany
Year: 1997-1999
Type: Pavillion
Location: Hannover, Germany
13. Double Roof House, Japan
Year: 1993
Type: Residential
Location: Yamanashi, Japan
14. Paper Temporary Studio, France
Year: 2004
Type: Studio
Location: Paris, France
15. Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club House – Korea
Year: 2010
Type: Entertainment, Hospitality, Retail, Sports
Location: Yeoju, Korea
Shigeru Ban in 2026: The AIA Gold Medal
In December 2025 the American Institute of Architects named Ban its 2026 Gold Medal laureate — the institute’s highest honour — recognising a career that treats disaster-relief shelters and concert halls as the same discipline. The award caps a remarkable run: Japan named him a Person of Cultural Merit in 2025, and the Princess of Asturias Award for Concord (2022) honoured the humanitarian mission of his Voluntary Architects’ Network, whose paper partition systems have given privacy and dignity to evacuees from Kobe to Nepal and to families displaced by the war in Ukraine. He joins Fumihiko Maki (2011) among Japanese Gold Medal laureates.
Frequently Asked Questions About Shigeru Ban
Who is Shigeru Ban?
A Japanese architect born in Tokyo on 5 August 1957, trained at SCI-Arc and the Cooper Union in New York under John Hejduk. He runs offices in Tokyo, New York and Paris, teaches at Keio University, and is known equally for refined permanent buildings and emergency architecture in paper.
Why did Shigeru Ban win the 2026 AIA Gold Medal?
Announced in December 2025, the medal recognises his pairing of design excellence with social responsibility — recyclable paper-tube and timber structures that serve disaster survivors and museum-goers alike, a body of work the AIA cited as reshaping what architecture is for.
What does Shigeru Ban build with paper?
Waterproofed, flame-retarded cardboard tubes — strong enough for the Japan Pavilion at Expo 2000 and the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, cheap and light enough for the Paper Log Houses and Paper Partition System used in evacuation shelters worldwide. He also pioneers large-scale timber, as at the Tamedia headquarters in Zurich.
What are Shigeru Ban’s most famous buildings?
The Centre Pompidou-Metz in France (2010), the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch (2013), La Seine Musicale in Paris (2017), the Curtain Wall House in Tokyo (1995) and the Nicolas G. Hayek Center — all profiled in the list above.
What is the Voluntary Architects’ Network?
The NGO Ban founded in 1995 to bring architects into disaster relief. It has built paper shelters, schools and churches after crises in Kobe, Rwanda, Turkey, India, Nepal and beyond. See where Ban’s medal fits among the winners of the AIA Gold Medal, or compare with fellow Japanese laureate Kenzo Tange.
Sources for the 2026 update
The American Institute of Architects, “2026 AIA Gold Medal Award Winner: Shigeru Ban, Hon. FAIA”. Dezeen, “Shigeru Ban wins 2026 AIA Gold Medal” (5 December 2025). Wikipedia, “Shigeru Ban” (2026).
