Shigeru Ban Named Recipient of the 2026 AIA Gold Medal

"On this occasion, the AIA highlighted Shigeru Ban's "pioneering use of humble, renewable materials, particularly paper and timber," and how "what began as an effort to minimize waste in exhibition design evolved into a revolutionary structural system." Around the time of founding his own practice in Tokyo, Shigeru Ban Architects, in 1985, he also worked as a curator at Axis Gallery, where he designed exhibitions for Emilio Ambasz, Alvar Aalto, and Judith Turner."

"The award is the AIA's highest individual honor, recognizing individuals whose work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. On this occasion, the Japanese architect's work was highlighted for its inventive use of renewable materials such as paper and timber, his innovation in timber architecture, his commitment to social service through design, and his 30 years as an educator at universities including Harvard, Cornell, and Columbia."

Shigeru Ban was awarded the 2026 AIA Gold Medal on December 4, 2025. The award recognizes architects whose work has lasting influence on architectural theory and practice. Ban is noted for pioneering use of humble renewable materials, especially paper and timber, and for developing paper-tube structural systems originating in exhibition design in the mid-1980s. His work spans temporary disaster-relief shelters and permanent projects such as the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch. Ban has driven innovations in mass timber architecture favoring fewer components and less reliance on high-tech solutions. He has taught for three decades at institutions including Harvard, Cornell, and Columbia.

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