Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has secured a place among the global architecture elite. His key early projects were a series of innovative houses, many employing unusual structural solutions such as the use of furniture as load-bearing structure, but he came to international prominence with his “paper tube” projects, in which cardboard tubes are used as the structural system. Ban has also been recognised for his work in creating emergency relief shelters. Recent and current projects include housing in the United States and Sri Lanka, and the new Centre Pompidou-Metz in France, due for completion next year.