Shigeru Ban's Paper Tube Emergency Shelters

A row of small shelters built from cardboard tubes with canvas awnings, bicycles parked outside. — Source names no photographer; (c)2024 Shigeru Ban Architects

Architect Shigeru Ban designs temporary shelters from low-cost materials such as paper tubes, used for earthquake victims in Kobe and refugees in Rwanda, to meet urgent housing needs after disasters.

Architect Shigeru Ban responds to the Challenge of housing needs after natural disasters by designing temporary and transitional shelters using readily available, low-cost materials like paper tubes and beer crates, for earthquake victims in Kobe, Japan, or refugees in Rwanda. His work addresses extreme resource constraints and urgent human needs.