shigeru ban: emergency paper partition system

shigeru ban: emergency paper partition system image courtesy of shigeru ban architects photographed in the DFA award exhibition by designboom

on december 1st and 2nd, 2011, the design for asia (DFA) award was presented at the business of design week (BODW), both organized by the hong kong design center. for their emergency shelter paper partition system, japanese architect shigeru ban together with the voluntary architects’ network were honored with the gold DFA award in the category of environmental design.

the post tsunami shelter in before the partitions were put in place image courtesy of shigeru ban architects photographed in the DFA award exhibition by designboom

the BODW in hong kong is asia’s leading annual event on design, innovation and brands. designboom attended as international media partner of BODW and has been a jury member of the DFA – design for asia awards. shigeru ban lectured also at the BODW on december 3rd, 2011.

made for easy transportation image courtesy of shigeru ban architects photographed in the DFA award exhibition by designboom

after the earthquake in japan, many families found themselves living on the floor of shelters and gymnasiums, sharing one space with strangers in the same situation. although this was tolerable for a few days, their lack of privacy started becoming an issue after weeks of living in this way.

laying out all materials needed for the partitions  image courtesy of shigeru ban architects photographed in the DFA award exhibition by designboom

made of two sizes of cardboard tubing, plywood, ropes and white curtains, the modular system allows for fast and easy assembly and disassembly. the structure can be made different dimensions for different sized families depending on where the cloth is hung. 1,800 individual units of PPS paper partition system were assembled in 50 provisional shelters for evacuees affected by the disaster. it is a cost effective solution to harness materials that are easily available and recyclable.

the lightweight beams require no specific skills and can therefore be put together by people in the shelters  image courtesy of shigeru ban architects photographed in the DFA award exhibition by designboom

designboom first wrote an article on the PPS paper partitions back when they were first being distributed, immediately following the earthquake.

an example of a completed portion of the partition image courtesy of shigeru ban architects photographed in the DFA award exhibition by designboom

shelter in use during japan earthquake image courtesy of shigeru ban architects photographed in the DFA award exhibition by designboom

overhead view of assembly  image courtesy of shigeru ban architects photographed in the DFA award exhibition by designboom

example of shelter accommodation image courtesy of shigeru ban architectsphotographed in the DFA award exhibition by designboom