Photo: Voluntary Architects Network
When Japanese architect Shigeru Ban saw Ukrainians fleeing their homes, he recognized a recurrent humanitarian challenge -- displaced families packed into hastily constructed refugee centers with little privacy. To make the ad hoc facilities more livable, Ban created a partition system using sturdy paperboard material called paper tubesmade of recycled paper pulp. From Chem to Lviv, locals have built 800 partitioned units for refugees.Ban is also helping build refugee centers in two gyms in Paris, and in Germany.In 2014, Ban was awarded architecture's highest honor, the Pritzker Prize, for building shelters in China, India, Turkey, Italy, New Zealand, and other nations. His nonprofit, the Voluntary Architects Network, is working with Polish architects, design students, and volunteers to establish refugee centers in vacant supermarkets and rail depots near Ukraine's border.
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