Shigeru Ban PTH – 02 Paper Tea House

One of Japan’s most well-known architects, Shigeru Ban has been designing paper tube structures since 1989, with a portfolio that includes multiple refugee housing solutions for disaster zones. The use of this material is characteristic of Shigeru Ban, who made his name with low-cost disaster relief housing built out of paper and cardboard tubing and then went on to put the materials at the heart of his practice.

By including details such as the waiting area, the design of the house is in line with traditional tea ceremony practice. Without going in for an obvious practical piece of architectural triumph, the Paper Tea House speaks volumes about the use of paper in a versatile manner. Shigeru Ban, a very popular name in the international structural design scene, has made this beautiful and simple house with only paper tubes. Imitating, and yet making an absolutely innovative structure of a Japanese tea house complete with table and four stools, offering a glimpse of Japanese tea serving tradition.