Mr. Ban, as an architect you are renowned for your use of innovative materials like recycled cardboard, fabric membrane, and laminated timber. Is material the starting point in your design process?
I don’t begin with a material. I begin with a problem. If a material can solve that problem, then I become interested in it. Sometimes it is paper, sometimes timber, sometimes carbon fibre. There are many materials we still don’t use efficiently. I think there is always room to discover new possibilities, every project presents a different problem, and I am always thinking about how to solve it more simply, with fewer materials or a better structure. I think every material has good and bad qualities. The important thing is understanding them and using them appropriately.
So could any material can become a building material if treated correctly?
I look for the right material for each project; you can’t force it to behave like something it is not. Every material has its own characteristics and the more you understand a material’s strengths, the more design becomes natural and even economical.
“Limitations are not negative. They often lead to better ideas.”
It sounds like problem solving and pragmatism is your main goal with regards to your work.
Of course. When I was a child, I wanted to become a carpenter. Our house was being extended, so carpenters were often working there. I enjoyed watching them and making small things from pieces of wood left over on the site. Later, I learned that there was a profession called architect. Because I liked making things and solving problems, I naturally became interested in it. When I realized that architecture brings together design, structure and practical challenges, I thought it was the right profession for me.
Do you ever feel limited by such a practical approach?
Limitations are not negative. They often lead to better ideas. Many of my projects began because I accepted a limitation instead of fighting against it. My project, Hanegi Forest, is a good example. The condition was that we could not cut down any of the existing trees and the budget was limited. Instead of treating those conditions as obstacles, I used them to develop the triangular structural grid. The structure could avoid the trees while remaining stable, and the result became a better relationship between the housing and the forest.
Is harmony with the environment something you’re interested in when it comes to architecture? Or is it simply a result, rather than a goal, of your practice?
To be honest, sustainability and ecology are not my main focus. I simply hate wasting things. As a result, my architecture became sustainable and environmentally friendly. Preserving the environment is part of solving the problem. If there are existing trees, for example, I don’t want to remove them simply to make construction easier, and as I mentioned with Hanegi Forest, the trees were part of our limitations. With my project Bookshelf House, for example, the extension was designed to open completely to the surrounding nature. Another project called Pasona Naturverse Retreat is positioned between the forest and the sea, and the landscape is part of the wellness experience of the building. So, I think architecture should first work. It should answer the client’s needs, the site’s conditions and the budget.
But what about a structure like your Library of a Poet? To me that building is more like art than architecture: the light, the presence of books, the vaulted windows, the framework…
The paper tubes with which that building was constructed were inexpensive, available everywhere and easy to transport. I didn’t choose them because they were unusual or beautiful or artful. I chose them because they solved a problem. Beauty comes from solving problems well, not from adding decoration afterwards.
“If I see a problem that architecture can help solve, I simply try.”
When you first started using paper tubes as a building material back in 1985, were you nervous to be doing something so innovative?
Not really. If I believe something will work, I prefer to test it rather than discuss it forever. There is always a possibility of failure, but that is how we learn. If I see a problem that architecture can help solve, I simply try. I don’t feel that is something special, it is just part of being an architect.
What about your role as an activist? How does that differ from your role as an architect?
I don’t see this as separate from architecture… But architects usually wait for clients. I don’t always do that. After disasters, nobody asks architects to help, but people still need shelter. If I can use my knowledge to improve a situation, then I think I have a responsibility to do so. Right now in Venezuela, we are preparing the Paper Partition System for evacuation shelters with our local partner, Andrés Bello Catholic University. A prototype using locally produced paper tubes has already been completed.
You’ve also been active in your native Japan, which has experienced earthquakes as recently as last month.
Yes, in Japan, we are currently responding to the Kumamoto earthquake, which struck on July 28 of this year. We are installing the Paper Partition System in evacuation shelters to give people more privacy and create safer and more comfortable living conditions. So the experience of working in these situations is always different, but the principle is the same: after a disaster, people need a safe and dignified place to live immediately. I try to use simple systems that can be installed quickly and improve the conditions of people who have been forced to live in evacuation shelters. Disaster relief projects are rewarding for me personally. When I spend most of my time working for privileged clients, I sometimes miss having direct contact with the people who actually use the spaces we create. In these situations, that connection becomes very immediate.