The Board of Directors and the Strategic Council of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) are honoring Shigeru Ban, Hon. FAIA, with the 2026 Gold Medal for his work that masterfully blends structural innovation, ecological sensitivity, and profound humanitarianism.

The Gold Medal honors an individual whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.

Born in Tokyo on August 5, 1957, Shigeru Ban grew up in a creative and cultured household. Ban’s family lived in a wooden house that was often renovated, and a young Ban became fascinated with the traditional work of carpenters. He enjoyed using leftover wood pieces to build things and decided he wanted to become a carpenter himself.

In 1977, Ban moved to California to study English. He chose the newly founded Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). After completing his fourth year at SCI-Arc in 1980, Ban successfully transferred to Cooper Union. There, his classmates included his future New York office partner, Dean Maltz, and other notable architects. He studied under influential figures like Ricardo Scofidio, Bernard Tschumi, and John Hejduk. Before his final year, Ban took a leave of absence to work at Arata Isozaki's office in Tokyo. He returned to Cooper Union and earned his Bachelor of Architecture in 1984. 

Ban started his own practice in Tokyo in 1985 without any prior work experience. He also worked as a curator for the Axis Gallery, where he designed exhibitions for Emilio Ambasz, Alvar Aalto, and Judith Turner. During the Aalto exhibition, he first developed the paper-tube structures that would become his signature. He continued to explore his ideas through a series of case study designs, including the "Curtain Wall House," "Wall-Less House," and "Naked House."

A hallmark of Ban's practice is his pioneering use of humble, renewable materials, particularly paper and timber. What began as an effort to minimize waste in exhibition design evolved into a revolutionary structural system. His work with paper tubes, from temporary disaster relief shelters to the permanent Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand, demonstrates how inexpensive, recyclable materials can create elegant and resilient structures. 

Ban’s commitment to service is as foundational as his material innovations. In 1995, following the Kobe earthquake, he founded the Voluntary Architects' Network (VAN), an NGO dedicated to providing disaster relief worldwide. He believes the skills of an architect should not be reserved for the privileged. This conviction has driven VAN to complete over 50 projects in 23 countries, from paper log houses for refugees in Rwanda and Maui to privacy partitions for Ukrainian refugees. His work with VAN embodies the spirit of using architecture as a tool for social good, earning him the Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice in 2017.

His portfolio of cultural and commercial work is equally impactful. The woven gridshell roof of the Centre Pompidou-Metz in France stands as a monument to modern timber construction. In the U.S., projects like the Aspen Art Museum and New York's Cast Iron House showcase his sensitivity to context and ability to honor tradition while advancing the future of architecture.

For over 30 years, Ban has also been a dedicated educator, sharing his methods with the next generation of architects at universities like Harvard, Cornell, and Columbia. He empowers students through hands-on building, often involving them in VAN projects, and demonstrating that architecture can be a powerful form of service. Shigeru Ban’s career is a strong reminder of our profession’s potential to create a more sustainable and equitable world.

Visit AIA’s website to learn more about Ban’s selection as the 2026 AIA Gold Medalist.