Philip Jodidio: Shigeru Ban. 1957. Architecture of Surprise

Famed Japanese architect Shigeru Ban attended SCI-Arc in California and earned his degree at the Cooper Union School of Architecture in New York. With offices in Tokyo and Paris, Ban consistently challenges accepted notions of architecture, designing a house without walls, or an exhibition space made from paper tubes and shipping containers. This survey traces his entire career to date, showing clearly why he is one of the world's most innovative and significant architects. Unlike many of his peers, Ban can create remarkable residences and still find time to design emergency relief housing for disaster areas from Kobe to New Orleans.

Often using paper or cardboard tubes as a structural element, his designs give new meaning to the term "Paper Architect." His major completed works include the Furniture House at Lake Yamanaka, Japan, the Curtain Wall House in Tokyo, the Naked House in Kawagoe, Japan, the Japanese Pavilion at Hannover Expo 2000, the mobile Nomadic Museum, and his most...