shigeru ban's paper pavilion is his first permanent building in europe

shigeru ban’s paper pavilion is his first permanent building in europe
image © domaine de boisbuchet by andreas jung

for his first building in europe, pritzker prize winner shigeru ban utilized tubes made of recycled paper similar to the japanese pavilion he had created for expo 2000 in hanover, germany. built together with 24 international students, the pavilion sits on the central axis of an old fruit garden in central france at domaine de boisbuchet. later enclosed with aluminum and glass façades to allow year-round use, the permanent structure features a translucent tarpaulin, as employed by ban for his temporary office on the roof of centre pompidou in paris.

front view of ban’s first permanent building in europe
image © domaine de boisbuchet by andreas jung

before the renovation, the original exterior fabric was wrapped with sheets of corrugated fiber glass. since its inception in 2001, the pavilion has been used for conferences and temporary installations during boisbuchet’s summer workshops.

view from inside the paper pavilion
image © domaine de boisbuchet by andreas jung

paper tubes are composed into a grid shell structure system
image © domaine de boisbuchet by deidi von schaewen

paper tube members frame into wood blocks
image © domaine de boisbuchet

24 international students helped with the construction during one of boisbuchet’s summer workshops
image © domaine de boisbuchet

initial construction process
image © domaine de boisbuchet

detail of paper tube grid shell construction
image © domaine de boisbuchet 

pritzker prize winner shigeru ban with a scale model of his paper pavilion
image © domaine de boisbuchet