Tokyo (AsiaNews /
Agencies) - The Japanese architect Shigeru Ban , the man who built "paper
houses", has won the 2014 Pritzker Prize , considered the Nobel Prize of
architecture.
56
year-old Shigeru Ban has also designed other buildings such as the Cathedral of
Christchurch in New Zealand , and the Pompidou Centre in Metz , France, as well
as emergency shelters for victims of natural disasters such as the tsunami in
Fukushima or refugees fleeing violence. Such
constructions (pictured) are made of cardboard and "low- tech", easy
to source locally, have a low environmental impact, and can be built quickly.
The
Hyatt Foundation, which funds the prestigious award, noted not only the "elegance
and innovation" of this years' recipients' designs but also his "unrelenting
humanitarian efforts". He
"has traveled for 20 years to places of disasters, natural or man-made, to
work with resident , volunteers , students to design and build recyclable , low
cost shelters to help restore dignity" to the victims . Shigeru
Ban's "commitment to humanitarian causes" it adds "is an example for
all" and "has made our world a better place".
Accepting
the award with thanks for the honor of the recognition, the architect - who has
offices in Tokyo, New York and Paris - expressed his desire to "continue
to listen to the people with whom I work , both in my private work , and my
work for the victims of disasters ."
In
1995 Shigeru Ban founded an NGO called Voluntary Architects Network (VAN),
which has intervened in many places hit by disasters in Japan. Turkey,
India, Sri Lanka, China, Haiti, Italy, New Zealand and, most recently, the
Philippines.