The Japan Information & Culture Center (JICC), Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C., is honored to present Shigeru Ban: Shaping Sanctuaries, an exhibition highlighting the ingenuity and humanitarian work of world-renowned architect Shigeru Ban and his nonprofit organization, the Voluntary Architects’ Network (VAN).

Visitors will be immersed in Ban’s signature paper tube structures and introduced to the Paper Partition System (PPS), which provides shelter and privacy for those displaced by disaster and conflict. Within the system, visitors will encounter Ban’s sustainable cardboard bed design. Printed upon the canvas curtains that line the partitions are displays of both commercial and charitable projects by Ban and the VAN, respectively.

Throughout his career, Ban has challenged the conventions of architecture by designing with reusable and unexpected materials such as paper tubes and shipping containers. His work reflects the Japanese philosophy of mottainai (もったいない), which expresses respect for materials and regret over waste.

Through projects developed with the VAN, Ban demonstrates how thoughtful design can restore autonomy and improve living conditions in emergency situations. Featured works include the Paper Log House built for survivors of the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake; Temporary Container Housing in Onagawa following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake; the Styrofoam Housing System developed for internally displaced people in Ukraine; and the striking Cardboard Cathedral, constructed after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand. Alongside these humanitarian efforts, the exhibition also highlights Ban’s innovative architectural practice around the world. Visitors will encounter projects such as the Simose Art Museum in Hiroshima, the Swatch Omega Headquarters in Bienne, Switzerland, the Tainan Art Museum in Taiwan, and more.