Shigeru Ban’s unique design philosophy and his remarkable resourcefulness has singled him out as one of the world’s most influential and inspirational creative geniuses. Best known for developing temporary architectural projects in response to both natural and man-made disasters, in particular his signature disaster relief shelters, the Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect has developed a reputation for his pioneering and resourceful designs as well as his dedication to humanitarian efforts. Using cheap, locally sourced materials such as paper, bamboo, and cardboard as the basis for humble yet dignified disaster relief structures, Shigeru Ban has achieved the seemingly impossible feat of enabling the development of humanitarian architectural projects that are necessarily functional while at the same time aesthetically innovative and groundbreaking.Sydney’s Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (SCAF) is currently presenting a major exhibition that highlights Shigeru Ban’s pioneering and resourceful designs. Titled “The inventive work of Shigeru Ban,” the exhibition is Shigeru Ban’s first Australian project and the first time that SCAF’s interior and exterior spaces have showcased the work of a single practitioner. Outside in SCAF’s Courtyard Garden, visitors will find two of Shigeru Ban’s signature disaster relief shelters – one of his first from Kobe (1995) as well as his latest disaster relief design for the Ecuador earthquake (2016). The interior gallery host a 1:15 scale model of his 2000 Japan Pavilion in Hannover, Germany, a 1:1 scale model of his 2011 Paper Partition System, model joint details from a range of projects, as well as an immersive scaled version of his famed 2013 Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand.“The inventive work of Shigeru Ban” reveals the true genius of Shigeru Ban’s practice to be his ability to bridge the gap between the temporary and the permanent which he achieves by creating buildings that not only have a physical presence, but also a spiritual one. His talent for endowing each of his structures with what can only be described as something akin to a soul means that even if they no longer exist physically, they remain firmly entrenched within the hearts and minds of those people for whom the structure was created. The success of his philosophy that “there is no difference between temporary and permanent” is epitomized by projects such as his Paper Church in Kobe, Japan and his Hualin Temporary Elementary School in Chengdu, China, which were originally intended to be temporary structures but are still in use to this day.To find out more about “The inventive work of Shigeru Ban” at SCAF and his architectural practice, BLOUIN ARTINFO’s Nicholas Forrest got in touch with Shigeru Ban and asked him a few questions.Your courtyard installation at Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (SCAF) features two of your signature disaster relief shelters, the first from Kobe (1995) and his latest from Ecuador (2016). What was your inspiration and motivation for these two different designs?The design of the disaster relief shelter in Kobe (1995) is the standard type of my disaster relief shelters.  I have built this type of shelter after earthquakes in Turkey (1999) and in West India (2001) as well. This type of shelter is made of paper tubes, which we can get locally, anywhere in the world. In the case of Ecuador, I used the least (minimum) paper tubes. Instead, I employed split bamboo, which is typically used locally for making outside walls. I made use of materials which are local and therefore suitable for the climate. As the foundation I employed plastic beer cases, which we could get also locally, on the spot.How do the works in the SCAF exhibition reflect and express your design philosophy, which seems to favor a minimalist aesthetic, emphasize materiality, and encompass themes of utility and sustainability?I do not think about sustainability. This is a trendy term. I just tried to show the idea of the connection/joint of materials, which everybody can do.Why have you chosen to focus on creating temporary structures for disaster relief as opposed to designing buildings of a more commercial nature?A temporary building can be permanent. For example, the Paper Church in Kobe (1995) was built as a temporary church at the beginning. However, the structure was relocated to Taiwan ten years after its construction in Kobe, and it became a permanent church there. The Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, NZ will also be permanent.You seem to place a lot of emphasis and importance on the materials you use, which are often unconventional such as paper and cardboard tube. Why do you chose to work with these unconventional materials?These are the materials which we can find anywhere we go – they are low-cost and light.  They do not require any special skill to be built. For example, volunteer students can construct them.You have said that you love to build monuments that are beloved by people. Could you explain what you mean by this?The very example is the Paper Church in Kobe: a temporary building gets loved by people, then it becomes a monument of the city, therefore it becomes permanent. Read more