spirituality 28.pdf

7/29/2019 spirituality 28.pdf

1/5

spirituality - lesson 28: shigeru ban

the kobe earthquake in japan 1995

'it is almost impossible in today's world for one person to invent something reallynew, but one person can use existing materials in an entirely different way.'-shigeru ban

shigeru ban started designing with cardboard 1986, when he used leftovercardboard tubes from a previous job to create a partition wall in an aalva altoexhibition (finland). he soon started experimenting with various paper

concoctions and come up with a substance he now calls 'evolved wood'. banfound that recycled cardboard could be made water and fireproof and thenmolded into load bearing columns and trusses. by 1993 the japanese ministrydeclared the paper tubes as a structural material for permanent buildings. thebeauty of the material is that is it cheap, easily attainable and has brilliantpotential.

since his first dabbling in paper constructions shigeru ban has created the 'paperarbor' in nagoya, a main hall for the odawara festival, part of a library in a privateresidence, issey miyake's studio, an art house, his own 'yamanakako' weekendhouse, the roof of the nemunoki children's art museum... what makes shigeru

ban's work so important is not only the ecological progression of his materialsbut the humanitarian ends it can achieve.at 5:46am on tuesday 17th january 1995 kobe in japan was hit by the 'greathanshin' earthquake. lasting only 20 seconds, the kobe earthquake was the most


2/5

devastating one japan had seen for 70 years. it's shallow focus ripped apartroads and buildings and caused over 5000 deaths. one of the buildings to be hitby the earthquake was takaitori church in nagata-ku, kobe, which burnt down asa result. the only thing remaining from the fire was the church's jesus icon,marking the site which became a gathering place for the victims of theearthquake.

inside the church

the interior seats about 80 people


3/5

the chapel at night

lighting in the centre of the tent-like roof


4/5

the site in nagata-ku, kobe, after the church had been dismantled and sent totaiwan

architectural drawing of the paper church

model of the paper church, kobe, japanat the alvar alto: through the eyes of shigeru ban exhibition, barbican, london,2007

bringing together the contributions of materials from others and money from


5/5

ban's own pocket, he designed an emergency church for the community ofnagata-ku. together with 160 volunteers the paper church, as it is now referredto, was constructed in only 5 weeks. there wasn't time for long periods of designand adjustment, instead ban used the material he knew from previous projects -cardboard. it was the perfect solution for providing a focal point for aneighborhood struck by disaster. due to the very nature of ban's evolved wood,the chapel was low cost and could be constructed without heavy machinery orexpertise in engineering.

58 paper tubes (325mm in diameter, 14.8mm thick, and 5m high) arranged inan elliptical formation held up a tent like roof of white teflon fabric. shigeru banbased the design of the small chapel on bernini's church designs, with the spacebetween the inner ellipse and the outer rectangle flooring forming a corridor bywhich to enter to the space. the tube columns were spaced closely together atone side of the chapel to for a backdrop for the alter, and opposite the tubeswere placed wider apart to allow for continuity between the interior and exterior.the formation of these tubes drew the eyes naturally upwards, towards theceiling.

'I think temporary structures for disaster victims must be beautiful andcomfortable for people who have not only been physically but psychologicallydamaged as well.'- shigeru ban

the image of the church is one of provocative elegance. the materials have ahumble beauty, as has the design. the chapel itself has an almost transparentquality to it and with no solid walls it feels like the church is open to every one.ban, like other architects, admits he likes to design monuments, but this time iswas not for the usual privileged people - instead people in need of hope andpeace. the chapel unified a community and provided support during crisis andwas supposed to be a temporary measure, remained standing for ten years.

since kobe shigeru ban has established the voluntary architect's network (VAN),a non-governmental body aiming to encourage social consciousness inarchitecture. he has continued to use his paper log house technique to constructemergency refugee housing in rwanda and turkey.

spirituality 28.pdf

Documents