0:00:15.359,0:00:17.008
Hi. I am an architect.

0:00:17.008,0:00:19.456
I am the only architect in the world

0:00:19.456,0:00:22.772
making buildings out of paper[br]like this cardboard tube,

0:00:22.772,0:00:26.772
and this exhibition is the first one[br]I did using paper tubes.

0:00:26.846,0:00:31.271
1986, much, much longer[br]before people started talking

0:00:31.271,0:00:35.474
about ecological issues[br]and environmental issues,

0:00:35.474,0:00:38.768
I just started testing the paper tube

0:00:41.500,0:00:45.427
in order to use this[br]as a building structure.

0:00:48.500,0:00:52.933
It's very complicated to test[br]the new material for the building,

0:00:53.353,0:00:56.150
but this is much stronger[br]than I expected,

0:00:56.150,0:00:58.362
and also it's very easy to waterproof.

0:00:58.362,0:01:00.757
Because it's industrial material,

0:01:00.757,0:01:02.960
it's also possible to fireproof.

0:01:02.960,0:01:06.193
Then I built[br]the temporary structure, 1990.

0:01:07.698,0:01:10.620
This is the first temporary building[br]made out of paper.

0:01:10.620,0:01:13.870
There are 330 tubes,[br]diameter 55 [centimeters],

0:01:14.661,0:01:16.870
there are only 12 tubes with a diameter

0:01:16.870,0:01:19.940
of 120 centimeters, or four feet, wide.

0:01:20.082,0:01:22.702
As you see it in the photo,[br]inside is the toilet.

0:01:22.902,0:01:25.253
In case you're finished[br]with toilet paper,

0:01:25.974,0:01:28.523
you can tear off the inside of the wall.[br](Laughter)

0:01:28.523,0:01:30.265
So it's very useful.

0:01:30.265,0:01:34.304
Year 2000,[br]there was a big expo in Germany.

0:01:34.304,0:01:36.723
I was asked to design the building,

0:01:36.723,0:01:39.717
because the theme of the expo[br]was environmental issues.

0:01:39.717,0:01:43.505
So I was chosen to build[br]the pavilion out of paper tubes,

0:01:44.403,0:01:45.832
recyclable paper.

0:01:45.832,0:01:48.802
My goal of the design[br]is not when it's completed.

0:01:48.902,0:01:51.486
My goal was when the building [br]was demolished,

0:01:51.486,0:01:54.562
because each country[br]makes a lot of pavilions

0:01:55.525,0:01:58.342
but after half a year,[br]we create a lot of industrial waste,

0:01:58.342,0:02:02.543
so my building has to be[br]reused or recycled.

0:02:02.543,0:02:04.846
After, the building was recycled.

0:02:04.846,0:02:07.292
So that was the goal of my design.

0:02:07.292,0:02:10.780
Then I was very lucky[br]to win the competition to build

0:02:10.780,0:02:14.380
the second Pompidou Center[br]in France in the city of Metz.

0:02:14.400,0:02:17.800
Because I was so poor,[br]I wanted to rent an office in Paris,

0:02:18.485,0:02:22.100
but I couldn't afford it, so I decided[br]to bring my students to Paris

0:02:22.100,0:02:25.441
to build our office on top[br]of the Pompidou Center in Paris

0:02:25.454,0:02:27.442
by ourselves.[br](Laughter)

0:02:27.442,0:02:31.114
So we brought the paper tubes[br]and the wooden joints

0:02:31.191,0:02:34.099
to complete the 35-meter-long office.

0:02:35.006,0:02:38.383
We stayed there for six years[br]without paying any rent.

0:02:38.383,0:02:41.004
(Laughter) (Applause)

0:02:41.004,0:02:43.391
Thank you. [br]I had one big problem.

0:02:44.057,0:02:46.385
Because we were part of the exhibition,

0:02:46.385,0:02:49.749
even if my friend wanted to see me,[br]they had to buy a ticket to see me.

0:02:49.749,0:02:51.752
(Laughter)[br]That was the problem.

0:02:51.752,0:02:55.120
Then I completed[br]the Pompidou Center in Metz.

0:02:55.120,0:02:57.074
It's a very popular museum now,

0:02:57.074,0:03:00.140
and I created a big monument[br]for the government.

0:03:00.490,0:03:02.389
But then I was very disappointed

0:03:02.389,0:03:04.985
at my profession as an architect,

0:03:04.985,0:03:09.013
because we are not helping,[br]we are not working for society,

0:03:09.013,0:03:12.257
but we are working [br]for privileged people,

0:03:12.257,0:03:15.449
rich people, government, developers.

0:03:15.449,0:03:17.969
They have money and power.

0:03:17.969,0:03:19.766
Those are invisible.

0:03:19.766,0:03:23.194
So they hire us to visualize[br]their power and money

0:03:23.194,0:03:25.412
by making monumental architecture.

0:03:25.427,0:03:28.292
That is our profession,[br]even historically it's the same,

0:03:28.292,0:03:30.344
even now we are doing the same.

0:03:30.344,0:03:33.668
So I was very disappointed[br]that we are not working for society,

0:03:33.668,0:03:37.655
even though there are so many people

0:03:37.670,0:03:40.562
who lost their houses[br]by natural disasters.

0:03:40.562,0:03:43.605
But I must say they are[br]no longer natural disasters.

0:03:43.605,0:03:46.490
For example, earthquakes[br]never kill people,

0:03:46.490,0:03:48.763
but collapse of [br]the buildings kills people.

0:03:48.763,0:03:50.903
That's the responsibility of architects.

0:03:50.903,0:03:52.940
Then people need some temporary housing,

0:03:52.940,0:03:55.002
but there are no architects working there

0:03:55.002,0:03:58.662
because we are too busy[br]working for privileged people.

0:03:58.662,0:04:02.541
So I thought, even as architects,

0:04:02.541,0:04:07.297
we can be involved in the reconstruction[br]of temporary housing.

0:04:07.297,0:04:09.089
We can make it better.

0:04:09.089,0:04:13.122
So that is why I started[br]working in disaster areas.

0:04:13.122,0:04:16.848
1994, there was[br]a big disaster in Rwanda, Africa.

0:04:16.848,0:04:19.579
Two tribes, Hutu and Tutsi,[br]fought each other.

0:04:19.579,0:04:22.077
Over two million people [br]became refugees.

0:04:22.077,0:04:25.829
But I was so surprised to see [br]the shelter, refugee camp

0:04:25.829,0:04:28.063
organized by the U.N.

0:04:28.063,0:04:31.357
They're so poor, and they are freezing

0:04:31.357,0:04:33.480
with blankets during the rainy season.

0:04:33.480,0:04:36.235
In the shelters built by the U.N.,

0:04:36.235,0:04:38.541
they were just providing a plastic sheet,

0:04:38.541,0:04:42.290
and the refugees had to cut the trees,[br]and just like this.

0:04:42.290,0:04:44.456
But over two million people cut trees.

0:04:44.456,0:04:47.247
It just became big, heavy deforestation

0:04:47.247,0:04:48.980
and an environmental problem.

0:04:48.980,0:04:52.210
That is why they started providing[br]aluminum pipes, aluminum barracks.

0:04:52.210,0:04:54.497
Very expensive,[br]they throw them out for money,

0:04:54.497,0:04:56.423
then cutting trees again.

0:04:56.423,0:05:00.444
So I proposed my idea[br]to improve the situation

0:05:00.444,0:05:02.604
using these recycled paper tubes

0:05:02.604,0:05:05.537
because this is so cheap[br]and also so strong,

0:05:05.537,0:05:08.284
but my budget is only [br]50 U.S. dollars per unit.

0:05:08.284,0:05:11.245
We built 50 units to do that[br]as a monitoring test

0:05:11.245,0:05:15.648
for the durability and moisture[br]and termites and so on.

0:05:16.951,0:05:21.531
And then, a year afterward[br]1995 in Kobe, Japan,

0:05:21.531,0:05:23.324
we had a big earthquake.

0:05:23.324,0:05:26.936
Nearly 7000 people were killed,

0:05:27.236,0:05:30.227
and the city like this Nagata district,

0:05:30.227,0:05:33.545
all the city was burned[br]in a fire after the earthquake.

0:05:33.545,0:05:37.486
And also I found out[br]there's many Vietnamese refugees

0:05:37.486,0:05:40.081
suffering and gathering[br]at a Catholic church --

0:05:40.081,0:05:42.400
all the buildings were totally destroyed.

0:05:42.400,0:05:45.501
So I went there and also [br]I proposed to the priests,

0:05:45.501,0:05:48.119
"Why don't we rebuild[br]the church out of paper tubes?"

0:05:48.119,0:05:51.259
And he said,[br]"Oh God, are you crazy?

0:05:51.459,0:05:53.568
After a fire, what are you proposing?"

0:05:53.568,0:05:57.196
So he never trusted me,[br]but I didn't give up.

0:05:57.196,0:05:59.078
I started commuting to Kobe,

0:05:59.078,0:06:01.407
and I met the society[br]of Vietnamese people.

0:06:01.407,0:06:05.574
They were living like this with [br]very poor plastic sheets in the park.

0:06:05.655,0:06:08.897
So I proposed to rebuild.[br]I did fundraising.

0:06:08.897,0:06:11.453
I made a paper tube shelter for them,

0:06:11.453,0:06:13.453
and in order to make it easy

0:06:13.453,0:06:15.936
to be built by students[br]and also easy to demolish,

0:06:15.994,0:06:19.203
I used beer crates as a foundation.

0:06:20.003,0:06:23.293
I asked the Kirin beer [br]company to propose,

0:06:23.293,0:06:26.013
because at that time,[br]the Asahi beer company

0:06:26.013,0:06:28.025
made their plastic beer crates red,

0:06:28.025,0:06:30.439
which doesn't go with[br]the color of the paper tubes.

0:06:30.439,0:06:32.757
The color coordination [br]is very important.

0:06:32.757,0:06:36.150
And also I still remember,[br]we were expecting

0:06:36.150,0:06:38.505
to have a beer inside [br]the plastic beer crate,

0:06:38.505,0:06:40.799
but it came empty. [br](Laughter)

0:06:40.799,0:06:43.791
So I remember [br]it was so disappointing.

0:06:43.791,0:06:46.029
So during the summer[br]with my students,

0:06:46.029,0:06:49.429
we built over 50 units of the shelters.

0:06:49.915,0:06:53.186
Finally the priest, finally[br]he trusted me to rebuild.

0:06:53.186,0:06:55.777
He said, "As long as [br]you collect money by yourself,

0:06:55.777,0:06:58.731
bring your students [br]to build, you can do it."

0:06:58.731,0:07:01.214
So we spent five weeks[br]rebuilding the church.

0:07:01.214,0:07:04.712
It was meant to stay there[br]for three years,

0:07:04.712,0:07:08.010
but actually it stayed there[br]10 years because people loved it.

0:07:08.010,0:07:11.819
Then, in Taiwan,[br]they had a big earthquake,

0:07:11.819,0:07:15.369
and we were proposed[br]to donate this church,

0:07:15.369,0:07:17.270
so we dismantled them,

0:07:17.270,0:07:20.015
we sent them over[br]to be built by volunteer people.

0:07:20.015,0:07:23.139
It stayed there in Taiwan[br]as a permanent church even now.

0:07:23.139,0:07:25.730
So this building became[br]a permanent building.

0:07:25.730,0:07:29.779
Then I wonder, what is a permanent[br]and what is a temporary building?

0:07:29.779,0:07:31.912
Even a building made in paper

0:07:32.312,0:07:35.642
can be permanent[br]as long as people love it.

0:07:35.642,0:07:38.642
Even a building made of concrete

0:07:38.667,0:07:42.115
can easily collapse by an earthquake.

0:07:43.692,0:07:47.092
If a building is built by a developer[br]in order to make money,

0:07:47.100,0:07:50.650
other developers buy the land,[br]they destroy it and put a new one.

0:07:50.675,0:07:52.475
So, it's very temporary.

0:07:52.500,0:07:54.300
So, that is a difference.

0:07:54.325,0:07:58.325
If a building is built even in paper,[br]if people love it, it becomes permanent.

0:07:58.350,0:08:01.150
Even a concrete building[br]can be very temporary,

0:08:01.150,0:08:04.050
if that is made to make money.

0:08:04.055,0:08:06.865
In 1999, in Turkey,[br]there's the big earthquake,

0:08:06.865,0:08:11.015
I went there to use the local material[br]to build a shelter.

0:08:11.015,0:08:14.869
2001, in West India,[br]I also built a shelter.

0:08:14.869,0:08:19.647
In 2004, in Sri Lanka, after [br]the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami,

0:08:20.670,0:08:23.551
I rebuilt Islamic fishermen's villages.

0:08:23.555,0:08:27.946
And in 2008, in Chengdu,[br]Sichuan area in China,

0:08:30.000,0:08:32.500
nearly 70 000 people were killed,

0:08:32.549,0:08:35.335
and also especially[br]many of the schools were destroyed

0:08:35.335,0:08:38.885
because of the corruption between [br]the authority and the contractor.

0:08:38.961,0:08:41.929
I was asked to rebuild[br]the temporary [school].

0:08:41.929,0:08:45.615
I brought my Japanese students[br]to work with the Chinese students.

0:08:45.715,0:08:49.415
In one month, we completed 9 classrooms[br]over 500 square meters.

0:08:50.228,0:08:54.700
It's still used, even after [br]the current earthquake in China.

0:08:54.700,0:08:59.698
In 2009, in Italy, L'Aquila,[br]also they had a big earthquake.

0:09:00.164,0:09:02.516
And this is a very interesting photo:

0:09:02.516,0:09:05.233
former Prime Minister Berlusconi

0:09:05.233,0:09:09.651
and Japanese former former[br]former former Prime Minister Mr. Aso -

0:09:09.651,0:09:13.532
you know, because we have to change[br]the prime minister ever year.

0:09:13.533,0:09:14.633
(Laughter)

0:09:14.750,0:09:18.450
And they are very kind,[br]holding my model.

0:09:18.600,0:09:22.999
I proposed a big rebuilding,[br]a temporary music hall,

0:09:22.999,0:09:25.443
because L'Aquila is very famous for music

0:09:25.443,0:09:28.998
and all the concert halls were destroyed,[br]so musicians were moving out.

0:09:29.000,0:09:30.800
So I proposed to the mayor,

0:09:30.800,0:09:33.800
I'd like to rebuild[br]the temporary auditorium.

0:09:33.810,0:09:36.756
He said, "As long as you bring[br]your money, you can do it."

0:09:36.756,0:09:38.456
And I was very lucky.

0:09:38.456,0:09:40.357
Mr. Berlusconi brought G8 summit,

0:09:40.440,0:09:42.546
and our former prime minister came,

0:09:42.546,0:09:45.751
so they helped us to collect money,

0:09:45.751,0:09:48.994
and I got half a million euros[br]from the Japanese government

0:09:48.994,0:09:51.881
to rebuild this temporary auditorium.

0:09:51.906,0:09:56.560
I have to remember every year[br]there is an earthquake somewhere.

0:09:57.100,0:10:00.500
Year 2010 in Haiti,[br]there was a big earthquake,

0:10:00.501,0:10:02.501
but it's impossible to fly over,

0:10:02.502,0:10:06.627
so I went to Santo Domingo,[br]next-door country,

0:10:07.509,0:10:10.424
to drive six hours to get to Haiti

0:10:10.424,0:10:13.715
with the local students [br]in Santo Domingo

0:10:13.815,0:10:17.268
to build 50 units of shelter[br]out of local paper tubes.

0:10:17.268,0:10:20.881
This is what happened in Japan[br]two years ago, in northern Japan.

0:10:20.881,0:10:22.756
After the earthquake and tsunami,

0:10:22.756,0:10:26.443
people had to be evacuated[br]in a big room like a gymnasium.

0:10:26.443,0:10:28.544
But look at this.[br]There's no privacy.

0:10:28.544,0:10:31.611
People suffer mentally and physically.

0:10:31.611,0:10:35.302
So we went there to build partitions

0:10:35.302,0:10:38.465
with all the student volunteers[br]with paper tubes,

0:10:38.465,0:10:43.865
just a very simple shelter[br]out of the tube frame and the curtain.

0:10:43.896,0:10:48.496
However, some of the facility authority

0:10:48.512,0:10:50.859
doesn't want us to do it,[br]because, they said,

0:10:50.859,0:10:54.356
simply, it's become[br]more difficult to control them.

0:10:54.356,0:10:57.438
But it's really necessary to do it.

0:10:57.463,0:11:00.463
Then, also it was the fact

0:11:00.488,0:11:04.988
over 500 kilometer coast line[br]was damaged by tsunami.

0:11:05.050,0:11:07.250
They don't have [br]enough flat area to build

0:11:07.250,0:11:10.750
standard government[br]single-story housing like this one.

0:11:10.778,0:11:13.528
Look at this.[br]Even civil government is doing

0:11:13.528,0:11:18.228
such poor construction[br]of the temporary housing,

0:11:20.048,0:11:22.007
so dense and so messy

0:11:22.007,0:11:25.549
because there is no storage,[br]nothing, water is leaking,

0:11:26.288,0:11:29.557
so I thought, we have to make[br]multi-story building

0:11:29.557,0:11:34.245
because there's no land[br]and also it's not very comfortable.

0:11:35.082,0:11:40.012
So I proposed to the mayor[br]while I was making partitions.

0:11:40.012,0:11:44.460
Finally I met a very nice mayor[br]in Onagawa village in Miyagi.

0:11:44.963,0:11:49.349
He asked me to build[br]three-story housing on baseball [fields].

0:11:49.349,0:11:52.075
I used the shipping container

0:11:52.075,0:11:54.528
and also the students [br]helped us to make

0:11:54.528,0:11:57.326
all the building furniture

0:11:57.326,0:11:59.018
to make them comfortable,

0:11:59.018,0:12:01.293
within the budget of the government

0:12:01.293,0:12:04.602
but also the area of the house[br]is exactly the same,

0:12:04.602,0:12:06.342
but much more comfortable.

0:12:06.342,0:12:09.474
Many of the people[br]want to stay here forever.

0:12:09.474,0:12:12.036
I was very happy to hear that.

0:12:12.036,0:12:15.973
Now I am working[br]in New Zealand, Christchurch.

0:12:15.973,0:12:19.520
About 20 days before the Japanese[br]earthquake happened,

0:12:20.050,0:12:21.895
also they had a big earthquake,

0:12:21.895,0:12:24.586
and many Japanese students[br]were also killed,

0:12:24.586,0:12:27.305
and the most important[br]cathedral of the city,

0:12:27.305,0:12:30.276
the symbol of Christchurch,[br]was totally destroyed.

0:12:30.276,0:12:34.774
And I was asked to come[br]to rebuild the temporary cathedral.

0:12:34.774,0:12:37.061
So this is under construction.

0:12:38.000,0:12:41.340
And I'd like to keep[br]building the monuments

0:12:42.301,0:12:44.331
that are beloved by people.

0:12:44.331,0:12:46.070
Thank you very much.

0:12:46.070,0:12:47.606
(Applause)

0:12:47.606,0:12:50.339
Thank you.[br](Applause)

0:12:50.339,0:12:52.429
Thank you very much.[br](Applause)