“I have been to disaster areas all over the world,” says Shigeru Ban. But never had the Japanese architect and veteran relief worker seen the degree of devastation that struck his homeland on March 11, 2011. The 9.0-magnitude earthquake, followed by the massive tsunami that crashed down on 311 miles of coastline, left thousands of people dead or missing and many more homeless. “This tsunami was incredible,” says Ban. “It came nine minutes after the earthquake, so there was no time to escape.”

Los centros de emergencia instalados en gimnasios y otros edificios grandes ofrecen poca privacidad. En respuesta Shigeru Ban ideo un sistema en particiones hecho con tubos de papel y mantas.

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