Instant Architecture for China’s Earthquake Victims

14 Nov 2008 Category: Architecture, Conscientious Design, Worldwide

Instant Architecture for China’s Earthquake Victims

After the earthquake in China: The new school term has started, and these kids in Sichuan Province have now at least a temporary school building again -- made of paper!

This May, a massive earthquake rocked Sichuan Province in China. Reaching a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale, it claimed the lives of 400,000 people. Half a year later, though the destruction seems to have lost its newsworthiness, the reconstruction is still very much a reality. However, it doesn’t have to be hopeless! How about a temporary shelter made of paper? In Chengdu city in Sichuan, students from Japanese banlab, architect Shigeru Ban’s research center, and the Hironori Matsubara Lab at Keio University used cardboard tubes to build temporary school buildings. Today, PingMag talks with Wataru Doi, the director of this student project, about the role of architecture after disasters.

Written by Ayana
Translated by Kevin Mcgue

First, how you did you get involved making temporary paper schools?

The Shigeru Ban’s banlab where I work had already been worknig on rebuilding projects after disasters, so after the earthquake in China, we immediately started talking about what we could do to help. Hironori Matsubara has an office in China, and he contacted Shigeru Ban, and went to inspect the region. Also, they got the cooperation of Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu. We gave a demonstration of a temporary house on the university campus, and then an elementary school in Chengdu asked us to build a temporary facility.

That’s what it looks like — a demonstration of a temporary paper house at Southwest Jiaotong University in June.

How severe is the destruction in Chendu?

Chengdu is about two hours by train from the centre of the worst. Compared to other areas, the destruction was not that severe — but for that very reason, resources for rebuilding were not sent to the area. Still there were people who needed help here, so we worked to build a new school building in time for the start of the new term in September.

And how exactly did you build a paper school?

We created three buildings, each with a floor plan of 6 meters by 30 meters and divided each of these into three sections, creating nine classrooms. Shigeru Ban came up with the basic ideas, and Mr. Harano from the doctoral course made the blueprints. Basically, the framework is made from paper tubes and the walls are made from material that is cheap and easy to produce in China. The roofs are made of plywood, and we used polycarbonate as insulation.

A blueprint of one of the paper buildings…

(Left) An illustration of how the paper tube framework is very simply put together. (Right) A blueprint mapping out the floor plan of a classroom.

Architect Shigeru Ban is famous for his paper buildings. What is the advantage of using this material?

It is cheap, and more importantly, it uses materials that are available anywhere in the world. It is also structurally sound, so you do not have to worry about safety issues. Shigeru Ban has already used paper tubing for rebuilding after earthquakes in: India, Turkey and Kobe.

Paper tubes laid out in a vacant lot…

… Structure taking its shape as the paper tubes create a framework.

How did exactly construct the buildings?

Form the beginning of August for around 40 days, students from Japan and from Southwest Jiaotong University, as well as elementary school students volunteered for the construction. When we arrived at the site, there were no materials, no tools or anything. So we started by getting together the things we needed, which was much harder than expected! For example in Japan, if you order 100 pieces of 12-millimetre plywood, that is what will be delivered. But in China, you would get 100 boards varying in thickness from 10 millimetres to 14 millimetres. So you have to check the thickness of each and every board as you work. You could never imagine having these kinds of difficulties in Japan!

Japanese and Chinese students volunteered to set up the housing structures.

What did you think about the project as you were working on it?

In Japan and China, architecture students have practical design assignments. But when actually putting up a building, they encounter many things that are not covered in the classroom. For example, how to put a frame together or how to screw on plywood. It’s been a good experience for them.

Construction work continued into the night to finish in time for the new school term.

A unique one too! How did the locals react when the school was completed?

The children were really happy, and everyone was smiling! The students were genuinely happy and also filled with a sense of accomplishment and it was evident they learned something from the project. Once the buildings were complete, people came together saying, “Arigato” and “Xie Xie” (Thank you) and crying.

Finished! The completed temporary paper schools — mind the pot plants in front.

Japanese students of Keio University surrounded by cheerful elementary school kids.

People tend to think that architecture is only about building skyscrapers and homes. And sometimes, architects let that kind of attitude go to their heads. Architects have to think about what they can do for society. The answer to that is doing something for people who need help. That’s an obligation. We will remember this very experience probably into our old age.

We bet the participating Chinese and Japanese students will become fabulous architects! Mind that this project is now seeking donations (site unfortunately in Japanese only) to continue the good work. Good luck!

33 Comments

  1. [...] Form the beginning of August for around 40 days, students from Japan and from Southwest Jiaotong University, as well as elementary school students volunteered for the construction . When we arrived at the site, there were no materials, … Read more [...]

    Posted by: insurancesitesfind » Blog Archive » PingMag - The Tokyo-based magazine about “Design and Making Things … on November 14th, 2008 at 8:11 pm

  2. genious

    Posted by: Anonymous on November 14th, 2008 at 11:27 pm

  3. amazing.

    Posted by: Jucapinga on November 15th, 2008 at 12:03 am

  4. [...] Read more details at PingMag! [...]

    Posted by: Japanese team builds temporary paper school buildings for earthquake victims | Japan Probe on November 15th, 2008 at 12:10 am

  5. good example of community work!!

    Posted by: Flavio on November 15th, 2008 at 1:47 am

  6. good example.
    good works

    Posted by: resim on November 15th, 2008 at 4:56 am

  7. That’s incredible.

    What a good idea

    Posted by: Timothy on November 15th, 2008 at 5:41 am

  8. [...] The rest of the article: Pingmag (via japan probe) Filed under: uncategorized   |   [...]

    Posted by: Japanese team builds temporary paper school buildings for earthquake victims « Picdit on November 15th, 2008 at 7:19 am

  9. Wow, that is absolutely amazing. My mouth is hanging open. Does the paper hold up long in the rain?

    Posted by: Dara on November 15th, 2008 at 7:20 am

  10. shigeru ban is pretty amazing… he’s been exhibiting since the 80’s and even worked with the un, truly inspirational.

    Posted by: kader on November 15th, 2008 at 1:22 pm

  11. It warms my heart to see children back in the classroom. A return to normalcy will help them to overcome the disaster.

    Posted by: Casey Leonard on November 15th, 2008 at 2:11 pm

  12. Paper… amazing. Love that.

    Posted by: Anonymous on November 15th, 2008 at 5:02 pm

  13. [...] Lee una entrevista de PingMag sobre este proyecto aquí. [...]

    Posted by: Toxico Cultura › ARQUITECTURAS INSTANTÁNEAS PARA UN DESASTRE on November 16th, 2008 at 11:53 am

  14. hope that the place doesnt get heavy rain…
    scissors beat paper!

    Posted by: roku on November 16th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

  15. [...] Read the interview and see more images here [...]

    Posted by: s i n o p o p » Blog Archive » Paper Schools in Cheng Du on November 17th, 2008 at 1:09 am

  16. That’s brilliant!Well done

    Posted by: Sylvia on November 17th, 2008 at 6:37 am

  17. I guess I will have to mention your piece on ‘Serge the Concierge’.

    In less ground breaking news, I wanted to let you know that I chose ‘PingMag’ as one of my 10 picks for my Around the World in 10 Blogs List for Blogs.com

    Take care

    Serge
    ‘The French Guy from New Jersey’

    Posted by: Serge Lescouarnec on November 17th, 2008 at 9:41 am

  18. Is it safe from Fire?

    Posted by: Anonymous on November 17th, 2008 at 9:43 am

  19. [...] China is the world’s most stressful country. Children in Sichuan Province are learning in paper school buildings (h/t sinopop). Nineteenth-ranked Norway upset 3rd-seeded China in round 3 of the 38th Chess [...]

    Posted by: The emperor would be pleased on November 17th, 2008 at 11:08 am

  20. [...] Hvilken rolle spiller arkitektur efter en naturkatastrofe? Nogle japanske studerende har lavet en skole af pap, der bruges som klasselokale i Sichuan, som blev ramt af forårets store jordskælv. Og [...]

    Posted by: Ugens Fem Klik Fra Kina: Huse af pap, et flydende hospital og hullede budgetter | KINABLOG.dk on November 17th, 2008 at 6:00 pm

  21. Congratulations to everyone involved in this project & to pingmag for spreading the word. LJ

    Posted by: L Jardim on November 17th, 2008 at 7:36 pm

  22. Wow! Kudos for the ones involved. There’s no memory like that of a smile…! :)

    Posted by: Aroldo on November 18th, 2008 at 5:22 am

  23. [...] Chengdu Hualin elementary school - Shigeru Ban architects (fotografías) + Chengdu Hualin elementary school - PingMag (artículo con entrevista, planos y fotografías) + Chengdu Hualin elementary school - Seagull [...]

    Posted by: Judit Bellostes : con tubos de cartón - “Chengdu Hualin” elementary school , Estudio de arquitectura on November 19th, 2008 at 2:23 am

  24. excelente proyect.
    congratulations.
    j.r.

    Posted by: Jaime Rendon on November 24th, 2008 at 4:55 am

  25. [...] from Pingmag reports on a Japanese student project for building temporary school buildings out of cardboard papers at Chengdu. Posted by Oiwan Lam  Print Version Share [...]

    Posted by: Global Voices Online » China and Japan: Paper Schools at Earthquake Zone on November 25th, 2008 at 1:10 pm

  26. [...] 26.11.08: Hier noch ein Link zu einem interessanten Projekt von Shigeru Ban Architects, die Notunterkünfte aus Karton [...]

    Posted by: Apropos: Erdbeben in Sichuan – 四川大地震 » Matthias Daum on November 26th, 2008 at 6:44 pm

  27. The “Survival Dome”, by InterShelter has also been endorsed by the Christian Relief network as their emergency shelter. It has also been approved by state and local authorities for migrant worker housing and construction camps as well as housing for the homeless. For the first time it has bridged the gap between tents and stick built houses. This amazing building goes up as fast as a tent and once up is stronger than a stick built house. The revolutionary new “Solar Dome” is powered by the sun or wind and is totally off the grid. It provides AC/heat, all electricity, and can even produce up to 20 liters of pure drinking water a day out of dry desert air. They are as useful in the Saudi desert at 130 as they are in Alaska at -40 below. They are THE answer for any natural or manmade disaster, such as Katrina and including biological or chemical terrorist attacks. After such attack they can be used for decontamination and quarantine facilities, unlike tents or trailers. Another one of their stunning sites is http://www.esint.net. I know they are looking for reps worldwide and is an incredible opportunity to ride the “Green Wave” at the top of the wave.

    Posted by: Capt KUBE on December 15th, 2008 at 11:24 am

  28. [...] Depois da tragédia que ocorreu antes das olimpiadas na região de Sichuan na China onde 69 mil pessoas morreram, escolas foram construídas com material barato e disponível na região, estruturas de tubos de papelão e paredes com uma especie de compensado de madeira, projeto de um arquiteto japonês e executado por voluntários. Nas devidas proporções, é um exemplo que poderia ser utilizado as vítimas de Santa Catarina, que perderam suas casas, um tipo de construção pré-fabricada seria utilizada temporariamente até a construção de moradias definitivas, desmontadas e guardadas esses abrigos poderiam ser utilizados em caso de necessidade em outra região. Veja mais detalhes do projeto no blog pingmag.jp/2008/11/14/sichuan/ [...]

    Posted by: Escola de material reciclado : blog.riopreto.info on January 10th, 2009 at 11:15 am

  29. [...] This May, a massive earthquake rocked Sichuan Province in China. Reaching a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale, it claimed the lives of 400,000 people. Half a year later, though the destruction seems to have lost its newsworthiness, the reconstruction is still very much a reality. However, it doesn’t have to be hopeless! How about a temporary shelter made of paper? Read the full text>> [...]

    Posted by: Kevin Mcgue - Tokyo-Based Journalist & Filmmaker » Instant Architecture for China’s Earthquake Victims on March 1st, 2009 at 9:50 am

  30. [...] After the earthquake in China: The new school term has started, and these kids in Sichuan Province have now at least a temporary school building again- made of paper. In Chengdu city in Sichuan, students from Japanese banlab, architect Shigeru Ban’s research center, and the Hironori Matsubara Lab at Keio University used cardboard tubes to build temporary school buildings. Read the whole story: http://www.pingmag.jp. [...]

    Posted by: Elementary School // Sichuan // China // Shigeru Ban Architects | archiCentral on May 2nd, 2009 at 7:29 pm

  31. [...] > | Keio University Ban and Matsubara lab. + Southwest JiaoTong University (via TreeHugger/PingMag) > | Leondelima > | OBRA > | PRODUCTORA > | RINTALA EGGERTSSON ARCHITECTS > | [...]

    Posted by: Crossing: Dialogues for Emergency Architecture | exhibition | movingcities.org on May 16th, 2009 at 1:21 pm

  32. Kilo kontrol ürünleri

    Posted by: Forever Kilo Kontrol on September 21st, 2009 at 4:03 am

  33. thank you very much. good work

    Posted by: hairstyles on October 11th, 2009 at 7:25 am

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