See Shigeru Ban's Kobe Paper Log House at Vancouver Art Gallery's Offsite starting May 11

Get up close to a full-size version of Shigeru Ban's Kobe Paper Log House, which will be on display at Vancouver Art Gallery's Offsite location as part of the “Offsite: Shigeru Ban” exhibition. Under Ban's direction, the Gallery constructed a version of the 15.8 square-meter structure using readily sourced materials. The exhibition will open on May 11.

Ban designed the Kobe Paper Log House as temporary relief shelter following the devastating 6.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Kobe, Japan in 1995. Over 6,000 people were killed, and some 200,000 people lost their homes. Organized by the Gallery's Institute of Asian Art and curated by Bruce Grenville, “Offsite: Shigeru Ban” will also feature a large photomural documenting Ban's ongoing design work on global disaster-relief projects, for which he received the 2017 Mother Theresa Award. 

Some of Ban's other disaster-relief projects in recent years include the Cardboard Cathedral (2013) in Christchurch, New Zealand, a Paper Temporary Shelter (2014) in Cebu, Philippines, and the Onagawa Container Temporary Housing building (2011) in Miyagi, Japan, to name a few.

“For more than 20 years, Shigeru Ban’s designs have served as a prototype for housing displaced peoples caught in the grips of natural disasters and war around the world,” said Kathleen S. Bartels, Director of the Vancouver Art Gallery, in a statement. “Based in a city known as a hub for green design and architecture, where the threat of an earthquake remains integral to building design choices, the Gallery invites visitors to see up-close this remarkable work of sustainable design that has improved the lives of so many.”

“Offsite: Shigeru Ban” will be open through October 8.