Paperchitecture: Shigeru Ban’s Tea House

Shigeru Ban's paper Tea Room - Image from Dezeen.com

Yanko Design has an interesting article which they referenced from Dezeen about Shigeru Ban’s paper Tea House installation being put up for auction. Now as much as I’d love to own this piece of architecture, I know that I would never be able to afford it. On the otherhand, I can admire it and learn from it.

Ban’s use of paper has been his recent ongoing material de-mode. Paper as a building method is an interesting, though not intuitive, choice. There are some fundamental problems that come with paper; first, structural stability can be compromised by water, second, (non-coated) paper is very difficult to clean, and third, the presence of sunlight and air can cause acid-rich paper to deteriorate overtime. All of this non-withstanding amazing things have been created from paper; Frank Gehry’s famous series of chairs, Ban’s recent work with paper tubes, as well as recent pieces at DWR and other retailers. But the paper design that strikes the most similarity to the Paper Tea House is some of the recent office furniture from MUJI. They have the same kraft paper color and texture, as well as the crisp almost modern edges.

Paper as an architectural and design material could positively impact both design and the environment. First, paper made of post-consumer recycled content is not only a renewable resource it also diverts raw goods from the landfill and incinerator. Second, coated paper could easily be made to have the same clean lines and pure color palette as the myriad of plastics currently used. Third, paper construction could lead to a revolution in both raw material and finished furniture transportation – by shipping precut and pre-scored pieces in flat sheets. Imagine going to IKEA and purchasing a flat packed dining room table, which is literally FLAT. The consumer could fold along the dotted lines and “create” their new eco-friendly designs in the comfort of their own home – À la the blow up furniture of the 70’s and the inflatable air mattresses that have come into vogue recently. This could bring back the mail order home business of two centuries past, and make it affordable and modern.

Author: spencer

I am an architect in the Washington DC metro area.