Shigeru Ban named 2026 AIA Gold Medal winner

Shigeru Ban is the recipient of the 2026 AIA Gold Medal. The jury praised the Tokyo-born architect's work, which "masterfully blends structural innovation, ecological sensitivity, and profound humanitarianism."

After studying at SCI-Arc in the late 70s and at the Cooper Union in the early 80s, where he learned from figures like Ricardo Scofidio, Bernard Tschumi, and John Hejduk, Ban returned to Japan and opened his practice in 1985. Early curatorial work at Tokyo’s Axis Gallery led him to experiment with paper tubes, a material that would become central to his design language.

Ban’s early projects, from the Curtain Wall House to the Naked House, showed how unconventional materials could deliver elegant spatial ideas. What began as low-waste exhibition design evolved into a structural system used in everything from temporary pavilions to the permanent Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch. His approach reframed “humble” materials like paper and timber as tools for serious architectural innovation.

Service has always been at the heart of Ban’s work. After the 1995 Kobe earthquake, he founded the Voluntary Architects’ Network (VAN) to provide disaster-relief architecture worldwide. That ethos has guided more than 50 projects in 23 countries, including housing for refugees in Rwanda and Maui and privacy partitions for displaced Ukrainians. His belief that architectural skills shouldn’t be reserved for the privileged has earned widespread respect, including the Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice.

Beyond humanitarian work, Ban’s cultural projects, from the timber gridshell of Centre Pompidou-Metz to the Aspen Art Museum, demonstrate a sensitivity to craft, context, and material expression.

As an educator at institutions like Harvard, Cornell, and Columbia, he’s shared his hands-on, material-first approach with generations of students. 

Other recent AIA Gold Medal recipients include Deborah Berke, Lake|Flato founders David Lake and Ted Flato, Carol Ross Barney, Edward Mazria, Brooks + Scarpa founders Angela Brooks and Lawrence Scarpa, and Marlon Blackwell.