ARCHITECTURE DESIGN III

PAPER HOUSE
SHIGERU BAN

ABOUT THE ARCHITECT

SHIGERU BAN
BORN 1957 IN TOKYO, JAPAN HE IS AN ACCOMPLISHED JAPANESE AND INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECT, MOST FAMOUS FOR HIS INNOVATIVE WORK WITH PAPER, PARTICULARLY RECYCLED CARDBOARD PAPER TUBES USED QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY.

HE STUDIED AT THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE AND LATER WENT ON TO COOPER UNION'S SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE WHERE HE STUDIED UNDER JOHN HEJDUK AND GRADUATED IN 1984.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
HIS CONSISTENT DESIGN PHILOSOPHY IS TO CREATE UNIQUELY FREE AND OPEN SPACES WITH CONCRETE RATIONALITY OF STRUCTURE AND CONSTRUCTION METHOD. HE HAS WORKED TOWARDS DEVELOPING CONCEPTUAL CLARITY THROUGH THE REDEFINITION OF AESTHETICS, SPACE, MATERIALS AND STRUCTURE. HIS MORE UNDERLYING INTEREST AND PASSION IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PAPER TUBE AS A PRIMARY BUILDING STRUCTURE.

ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS INVOLVING PAPER TUBE ARCHITECTURE IS THE JAPAN PAVILION FOR THE HANNOVER EXPO 2000, WHICH REPRESENTS A COMPREHENSIVE COMPILATION OF HIS PAPER TUBE STRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY.

PAPER HOUSE
LOCATION: LAKE YAMANAKA, YAMANASHI, JAPAN COMPLETION DATE: JULY 1995 THIS WAS THE FIRST PROJECT IN WHICH PAPER TUBES WERE AUTHORIZED FOR USE AS A STRUCTURAL BASIS IN A PERMANENT BUILDING.

DESIGNED WITH THE EXPLICIT PURPOSE OF INTRODUCING TUBES INTO JAPANESE BUILDINGS REGULATIONS, BAN CREATED A DRAMATIC SHOWCASE FOR THIS NEW STRUCTURAL MATERIAL.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

ENTRANCE DINING AND LIVING BED ROOM PASSAGE BATHROOM

AN S-SHAPED ARRANGEMENT OF 108 TUBES, OF WHICH 9 PROVIDE VERTICAL STURUCTURAL SUPPORT, IS IMPOSED ON A 10m X 10m FLOOR PLAN, CREATING A SERIES OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR SPACES

FLOOR PLAN

 EACH TUBE IS SCREWED TO CRUCIFORM WOODEN JOINTS IN THE COLOUMN BASE, WHICH ARE THEN ANCHORED TO THE FOUNDATION. PART OF THE S-CURVE IS A CIRCULAR FORM OF 34 PAPER TUBES, INCLUDING 29 ON THE EXTERIOR THAT ARE NON STRUCTURAL.

SECTION
THESE HELPS TO ENCLOSE A SMALL GARDEN AND BATHING AREA. 74 PAPER TUBES FORM THE LARGER CIRCLE THAT CREATES AN INTERNAL LIVING AREA AND AN EXTERNAL CIRCULATION SPACE. STANDING INDIPENDENTLY IN THE CIRCULATION SPACE ARE TWO ADDITIONAL TUBES: THE SMALLER ONE MARKS THE ENTRANCE WHILE THE OTHER FUNCTIONS AS A CONTAINER FOR TOILET

 NARROW SLOTS BETWEEN THE TUBES ALLOW LIGHT TO ENTER INSIDE AND ALLOW A PARTIAL VIEW INSIDE OR OUTSIDE.

THE HOUSES LARGER SPACE CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO SMALLER UNITS, A CHARACTERISTIC OF MANY TRADITIONAL JAPANESE HOUSES.

 IN WARM WEATHER, THE LARGE LIVING AREA CAN BE EXPANDED BY OPENING THE SLIDING GLASS DOORS ON ITS PERIMETER, CREATING A FREE LFOW OF SPACE BETWEEN THE CIRCULATION CORRIDOR AND OUTDOOR TERRACES.

THE COMPLETELY OPEN SPACE HAS A MIESAN VISUAL EMPHASIS, WITH THE HORIZONTAL ROOFLINE AND VERTICAL COLOUMNS UNDERSCORING THE HOUSES STRUCTURAL PURITY.

OTHER WORKS