Emergency shelters made from paper
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0:00 - 0:02Hi. I am an architect.
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0:02 - 0:04I am the only architect in the world
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0:04 - 0:08making buildings out of paper like this cardboard tube,
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0:08 - 0:10and this exhibition is the first one I did
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0:10 - 0:12using paper tubes.
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0:12 - 0:161986, much, much longer before people started talking
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0:16 - 0:20about ecological issues and environmental issues,
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0:20 - 0:24I just started testing the paper tube
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0:24 - 0:26in order to use this as a building structure.
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0:26 - 0:32It's very complicated to test the new material for the building,
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0:32 - 0:34but this is much stronger than I expected,
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0:34 - 0:36and also it's very easy to waterproof,
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0:36 - 0:38and also, because it's industrial material,
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0:38 - 0:41it's also possible to fireproof.
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0:41 - 0:45Then I built the temporary structure, 1990.
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0:45 - 0:48This is the first temporary building made out of paper.
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0:48 - 0:52There are 330 tubes, diameter 55 [centimeters],
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0:52 - 0:54there are only 12 tubes with a diameter
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0:54 - 0:56of 120 centimeters, or four feet, wide.
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0:56 - 0:59As you see it in the photo, inside is the toilet.
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0:59 - 1:02In case you're finished with toilet paper,
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1:02 - 1:04you can tear off the inside of the wall. (Laughter)
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1:04 - 1:06So it's very useful.
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1:06 - 1:10Year 2000, there was a big expo in Germany.
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1:10 - 1:13I was asked to design the building,
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1:13 - 1:16because the theme of the expo was environmental issues.
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1:16 - 1:20So I was chosen to build the pavilion out of paper tubes,
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1:20 - 1:22recyclable paper.
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1:22 - 1:25My goal of the design is not when it's completed.
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1:25 - 1:27My goal was when the building was demolished,
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1:27 - 1:31because each country makes a lot of pavilions
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1:31 - 1:34but after half a year, we create a lot of industrial waste,
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1:34 - 1:39so my building has to be reused or recycled.
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1:39 - 1:41After, the building was recycled.
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1:41 - 1:43So that was the goal of my design.
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1:43 - 1:47Then I was very lucky to win the competition
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1:47 - 1:49to build the second Pompidou Center in France
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1:49 - 1:51in the city of Metz.
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1:51 - 1:52Because I was so poor,
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1:52 - 1:54I wanted to rent an office in Paris,
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1:54 - 1:56but I couldn't afford it,
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1:56 - 1:58so I decided to bring my students to Paris
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1:58 - 2:01to build our office on top of the Pompidou Center in Paris
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2:01 - 2:03by ourselves.
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2:03 - 2:06So we brought the paper tubes and the wooden joints
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2:06 - 2:10to complete the 35-meter-long office.
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2:10 - 2:13We stayed there for six years without paying any rent.
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2:13 - 2:17(Laughter) (Applause)
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2:17 - 2:19Thank you. I had one big problem.
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2:19 - 2:22Because we were part of the exhibition,
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2:22 - 2:25even if my friend wanted to see me, they had to buy a ticket to see me.
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2:25 - 2:27That was the problem.
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2:27 - 2:30Then I completed the Pompidou Center in Metz.
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2:30 - 2:32It's a very popular museum now,
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2:32 - 2:35and I created a big monument for the government.
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2:35 - 2:37But then I was very disappointed
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2:37 - 2:40at my profession as an architect,
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2:40 - 2:44because we are not helping, we are not working for society,
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2:44 - 2:47but we are working for privileged people,
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2:47 - 2:50rich people, government, developers.
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2:50 - 2:53They have money and power.
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2:53 - 2:54Those are invisible.
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2:54 - 2:58So they hire us to visualize their power and money
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2:58 - 3:00by making monumental architecture.
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3:00 - 3:03That is our profession, even historically it's the same,
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3:03 - 3:05even now we are doing the same.
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3:05 - 3:08So I was very disappointed that we are not working for society,
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3:08 - 3:12even though there are so many people
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3:12 - 3:15who lost their houses by natural disasters.
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3:15 - 3:18But I must say they are no longer natural disasters.
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3:18 - 3:21For example, earthquakes never kill people,
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3:21 - 3:23but collapse of the buildings kill people.
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3:23 - 3:25That's the responsibility of architects.
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3:25 - 3:27Then people need some temporary housing,
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3:27 - 3:29but there are no architects working there
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3:29 - 3:33because we are too busy working for privileged people.
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3:33 - 3:36So I thought, even as architects,
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3:36 - 3:41we can be involved in the reconstruction of temporary housing.
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3:41 - 3:43We can make it better.
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3:43 - 3:47So that is why I started working in disaster areas.
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3:47 - 3:511994, there was a big disaster in Rwanda, Africa.
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3:51 - 3:53Two tribes, Hutu and Tutsi, fought each other.
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3:53 - 3:56Over two million people became refugees.
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3:56 - 4:00But I was so surprised to see the shelter, refugee camp
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4:00 - 4:02organized by the U.N.
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4:02 - 4:05They're so poor, and they are freezing
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4:05 - 4:07with blankets during the rainy season,
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4:07 - 4:10In the shelters built by the U.N.,
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4:10 - 4:12they were just providing a plastic sheet,
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4:12 - 4:17and the refugees had to cut the trees, and just like this.
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4:17 - 4:18But over two million people cut trees.
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4:18 - 4:21It just became big, heavy deforestation
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4:21 - 4:23and an environmental problem.
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4:23 - 4:26That is why they started providing aluminum pipes, aluminum barracks.
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4:26 - 4:28Very expensive, they throw them out for money,
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4:28 - 4:30then cutting trees again.
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4:30 - 4:34So I proposed my idea to improve the situation
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4:34 - 4:36using these recycled paper tubes
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4:36 - 4:39because this is so cheap and also so strong,
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4:39 - 4:42but my budget is only 50 U.S. dollars per unit.
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4:42 - 4:45We built 50 units to do that as a monitoring test
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4:45 - 4:51for the durability and moisture and termites, so on.
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4:51 - 4:55And then, year afterward, 1995, in Kobe, Japan,
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4:55 - 4:57we had a big earthquake.
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4:57 - 5:00Nearly 7,000 people were killed,
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5:00 - 5:03and the city like this Nagata district,
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5:03 - 5:06all the city was burned in a fire after the earthquake.
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5:06 - 5:10And also I found out there's many Vietnamese refugees
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5:10 - 5:13suffering and gathering at a Catholic church --
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5:13 - 5:14all the building was totally destroyed.
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5:14 - 5:18So I went there and also I proposed to the priests,
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5:18 - 5:21"Why don't we rebuild the church out of paper tubes?"
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5:21 - 5:24And he said, "Oh God, are you crazy?
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5:24 - 5:26After a fire, what are you proposing?"
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5:26 - 5:29So he never trusted me, but I didn't give up.
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5:29 - 5:31I started commuting to Kobe,
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5:31 - 5:34and I met the society of Vietnamese people.
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5:34 - 5:37They were living like this with very poor plastic sheets
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5:37 - 5:38in the park.
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5:38 - 5:41So I proposed to rebuild. I raised -- did fundraising.
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5:41 - 5:44I made a paper tube shelter for them,
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5:44 - 5:47and in order to make it easy to be built by students
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5:47 - 5:48and also easy to demolish,
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5:48 - 5:51I used beer crates as a foundation.
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5:51 - 5:54I asked the Kirin beer company to propose,
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5:54 - 5:57because at that time, the Asahi beer company
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5:57 - 5:59made their plastic beer crates red,
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5:59 - 6:01which doesn't go with the color of the paper tubes.
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6:01 - 6:04The color coordination is very important.
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6:04 - 6:07And also I still remember, we were expecting
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6:07 - 6:09to have a beer inside the plastic beer crate,
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6:09 - 6:11but it came empty. (Laughter)
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6:11 - 6:14So I remember it was so disappointing.
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6:14 - 6:17So during the summer with my students,
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6:17 - 6:19we built over 50 units of the shelters.
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6:19 - 6:22Finally the priest, finally he trusted me to rebuild.
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6:22 - 6:24He said, "As long as you collect money by yourself,
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6:24 - 6:26bring your students to build, you can do it."
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6:26 - 6:29So we spent five weeks rebuilding the church.
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6:29 - 6:32It was meant to stay there for three years,
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6:32 - 6:35but actually it stayed there 10 years because people loved it.
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6:35 - 6:39Then, in Taiwan, they had a big earthquake,
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6:39 - 6:43and we proposed to donate this church,
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6:43 - 6:45so we dismantled them,
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6:45 - 6:47we sent them over to be built by volunteer people.
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6:47 - 6:51It stayed there in Taiwan as a permanent church even now.
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6:51 - 6:53So this building became a permanent building.
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6:53 - 6:58Then I wonder, what is a permanent and what is a temporary building?
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6:58 - 7:00Even a building made in paper
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7:00 - 7:03can be permanent as long as people love it.
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7:03 - 7:05Even a concrete building can be very temporary
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7:05 - 7:08if that is made to make money.
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7:08 - 7:10In 1999, in Turkey, the big earthquake,
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7:10 - 7:14I went there to use the local material to build a shelter.
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7:14 - 7:182001, in West India, I built also a shelter.
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7:18 - 7:22In 2004, in Sri Lanka, after the Sumatra earthquake
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7:22 - 7:26and tsunami, I rebuilt Islamic fishermen's villages.
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7:26 - 7:31And in 2008, in Chengdu, Sichuan area in China,
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7:31 - 7:34nearly 70,000 people were killed,
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7:34 - 7:37and also especially many of the schools were destroyed
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7:37 - 7:41because of the corruption between the authority and the contractor.
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7:41 - 7:44I was asked to rebuild the temporary church.
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7:44 - 7:48I brought my Japanese students to work with the Chinese students.
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7:48 - 7:51In one month, we completed nine classrooms,
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7:51 - 7:52over 500 square meters.
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7:52 - 7:57It's still used, even after the current earthquake in China.
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7:57 - 8:02In 2009, in Italy, L'Aquila, also they had a big earthquake.
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8:02 - 8:04And this is a very interesting photo:
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8:04 - 8:07former Prime Minister Berlusconi
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8:07 - 8:12and Japanese former former former former Prime Minister Mr. Aso --
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8:12 - 8:15you know, because we have to change the prime minister ever year.
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8:15 - 8:20And they are very kind, affording my model.
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8:20 - 8:25I proposed a big rebuilding, a temporary music hall,
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8:25 - 8:27because L'Aquila is very famous for music
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8:27 - 8:29and all the concert halls were destroyed,
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8:29 - 8:31so musicians were moving out.
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8:31 - 8:32So I proposed to the mayor,
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8:32 - 8:34I'd like to rebuild the temporary auditorium.
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8:34 - 8:37He said, "As long as you bring your money, you can do it."
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8:37 - 8:39And I was very lucky.
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8:39 - 8:41Mr. Berlusconi brought G8 summit,
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8:41 - 8:43and our former prime minister came,
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8:43 - 8:46so they helped us to collect money,
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8:46 - 8:49and I got half a million euros from the Japanese government
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8:49 - 8:52to rebuild this temporary auditorium.
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8:52 - 8:57Year 2010 in Haiti, there was a big earthquake,
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8:57 - 8:58but it's impossible to fly over,
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8:58 - 9:01so I went to Santo Domingo, next-door country,
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9:01 - 9:04to drive six hours to get to Haiti
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9:04 - 9:07with the local students in Santo Domingo
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9:07 - 9:11to build 50 units of shelter out of local paper tubes.
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9:11 - 9:15This is what happened in Japan two years ago, in northern Japan.
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9:15 - 9:16After the earthquake and tsunami,
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9:16 - 9:20people had to be evacuated in a big room like a gymnasium.
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9:20 - 9:22But look at this. There's no privacy.
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9:22 - 9:25People suffer mentally and physically.
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9:25 - 9:28So we went there to build partitions
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9:28 - 9:32with all the student volunteers with paper tubes,
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9:32 - 9:36just a very simple shelter out of the tube frame and the curtain.
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9:36 - 9:38However, some of the facility authority
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9:38 - 9:40doesn't want us to do it, because, they said,
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9:40 - 9:44simply, it's become more difficult to control them.
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9:44 - 9:46But it's really necessary to do it.
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9:46 - 9:49They don't have enough flat area to build
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9:49 - 9:52standard government single-story housing like this one.
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9:52 - 9:54Look at this. Even civil government is doing
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9:54 - 9:58such poor construction of the temporary housing,
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9:58 - 10:05so dense and so messy because there is no storage, nothing, water is leaking,
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10:05 - 10:08so I thought, we have to make multi-story building
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10:08 - 10:11because there's no land and also it's not very comfortable.
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10:11 - 10:16So I proposed to the mayor while I was making partitions.
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10:16 - 10:20Finally I met a very nice mayor in Onagawa village
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10:20 - 10:21in Miyagi.
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10:21 - 10:25He asked me to build three-story housing on baseball [fields].
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10:25 - 10:28I used the shipping container
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10:28 - 10:31and also the students helped us to make
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10:31 - 10:33all the building furniture
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10:33 - 10:35to make them comfortable,
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10:35 - 10:37within the budget of the government
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10:37 - 10:41but also the area of the house is exactly the same,
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10:41 - 10:42but much more comfortable.
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10:42 - 10:46Many of the people want to stay here forever.
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10:46 - 10:48I was very happy to hear that.
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10:48 - 10:52Now I am working in New Zealand, Christchurch.
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10:52 - 10:56About 20 days before the Japanese earthquake happened,
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10:56 - 10:57also they had a big earthquake,
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10:57 - 11:00and many Japanese students were also killed,
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11:00 - 11:02and the most important cathedral of the city,
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11:02 - 11:05the symbol of Christchurch, was totally destroyed.
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11:05 - 11:09And I was asked to come to rebuild the temporary cathedral.
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11:09 - 11:11So this is under construction.
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11:11 - 11:15And I'd like to keep building monuments
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11:15 - 11:17that are beloved by people.
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11:17 - 11:18Thank you very much.
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11:18 - 11:20(Applause)
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11:20 - 11:23Thank you. (Applause)
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11:23 - 11:26Thank you very much. (Applause)
- Title:
- Emergency shelters made from paper
- Speaker:
- Shigeru Ban
- Description:
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Long before sustainability became a buzzword, architect Shigeru Ban had begun his experiments with ecologically-sound building materials such as cardboard tubes and paper. His remarkable structures are often intended as temporary housing, designed to help the dispossessed in disaster-struck nations such as Haiti, Rwanda or Japan. Yet equally often the buildings remain a beloved part of the landscape long after they have served their intended purpose. (Filmed at TEDxTokyo.)
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 11:42
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Emergency shelters made from paper | ||
Thu-Huong Ha approved English subtitles for Emergency shelters made from paper | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Emergency shelters made from paper | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Emergency shelters made from paper | ||
Morton Bast accepted English subtitles for Emergency shelters made from paper | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Emergency shelters made from paper | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Emergency shelters made from paper | ||
Joseph Geni edited English subtitles for Emergency shelters made from paper |