Shigeru Ban: Emergency shelters made from paper

Translator: Iris Xholi Reviewer: Helena Bedalli

Hi. I am an architect.

Pershendetje. Jam nje arkitekt.

I am the only architect in the world

Jam i vetmi arkitekt ne bote

making buildings out of paper like this cardboard tube,

qe ben ndertesa prej letre si ky tubi i kartonit,

and this exhibition is the first one I did

dhe kjo ekspozite eshte e para qe bera

using paper tubes.

duke perdorur tuba kartoni.

1986, much, much longer before people started talking

Viti 1986, shume kohe para se njerezit te fillonin te flisnin

about ecological issues and environmental issues,

per problemet ekologjike dhe mjedisore,

I just started testing the paper tube

une fillova te testoj tubin prej letre

in order to use this as a building structure.

ne menyre qe ta perdorja kete si strukturen e nderteses.

It's very complicated to test the new material for the building,

Testimi i materialit te ri per ndertesat eshte shume i nderlikuar

but this is much stronger than I expected,

por ky eshte shume me rezistent nga c'e prisja,

and also it's very easy to waterproof,

dhe shume e thjeshte ta izolosh nga uji,

and also, because it's industrial material,

e po ashtu, duke qene material industrial

it's also possible to fireproof.

eshte rezistent dhe ndaj zjarrit.

Then I built the temporary structure, 1990.

Me pas ne 1990-n ndertova strukturen e perkohshme,

This is the first temporary building made out of paper.

Kjo eshte ndertesa e pare e perkohshme e bere prej letre.

There are 330 tubes, diameter 55 [centimeters],

Ka 330 tuba, me diameter 55 cm,

there are only 12 tubes with a diameter

ka vetem 12 tuba

of 120 centimeters, or four feet, wide.

me diameter 120 cm.

As you see it in the photo, inside is the toilet.

Sic e shikoni ne kete fotografi, brenda eshte tualeti.

In case you're finished with toilet paper,

Ne rast se mbeteni pa leter higjenike,

you can tear off the inside of the wall. (Laughter)

mund te grisni pak nga brendesia e murit. (Te qeshura)

So it's very useful.

Pra eshte shume e dobishme.

Year 2000, there was a big expo in Germany.

Ne vitin 2000, ishte nje ekspozite e madhe ne Gjermani.

I was asked to design the building,

Me kerkuan te projektoja godinen,

because the theme of the expo was environmental issues.

sepse tema e ekspozites ishte Problemet mjedisore.

So I was chosen to build the pavilion out of paper tubes,

U zgjodha per te ndertuar seksionin me tuba kartoni,

recyclable paper.

leter te riciklueshme.

My goal of the design is not when it's completed.

Objektivi im i projektimit nuk ishte perfundimi.

My goal was when the building was demolished,

Objektivi im ishte shembja e godines.

because each country makes a lot of pavilions

Sepse cdo shtet nderton shume seksione,

but after half a year, we create a lot of industrial waste,

por pas 6 muajsh, krijohen sasi te medha mbetjesh industriale,

so my building has to be reused or recycled.

qe godina ime duhet te riperdoret ose riciklohet.

After, the building was recycled.

Pas kesaj, godina u riciklua.

So that was the goal of my design.

Pra ky ishte objektivi i projektit tim.

Then I was very lucky to win the competition

Me pas Isha me shume fat te fitoja dhe kompeticionin

to build the second Pompidou Center in France

per te ndertuar Qendren e dyte Pompidou ne France

in the city of Metz.

ne qytetin Metz.

Because I was so poor,

Duke qene se isha shume i varfer,

I wanted to rent an office in Paris,

dhe doja te merrja me qera nje zyre ne Paris,

but I couldn't afford it,

por nuk mund ta perballoja ate,

so I decided to bring my students to Paris

vendosa te sillja studentet e mi ne Paris,

to build our office on top of the Pompidou Center in Paris

per te ndertuar zyren tone ne maje te qendres Pompidou,

by ourselves.

te gjithe me forcat tona.

So we brought the paper tubes and the wooden joints

Sollem tubat e letres dhe xhuntot e drurit

to complete the 35-meter-long office.

per te realizuar zyren 35 metra te gjate.

We stayed there for six years without paying any rent.

Qendruam aty per gjashte vjet pa paguar qera.

(Laughter) (Applause)

(Te qeshura) (Duartrokitje)

Thank you. I had one big problem.

Faleminderit. Kisha nje problem te madh.

Because we were part of the exhibition,

Duke qene se ishim pjese e ekspozites,

even if my friend wanted to see me, they had to buy a ticket to see me.

nese nje mik i imi donte te me takonte, ai duhet te blinte bilete.

That was the problem.

Ky ishte problemi.

Then I completed the Pompidou Center in Metz.

Me pas perfundova qendren Pompidu ne Metz.

It's a very popular museum now,

Tashme eshte nje muzeum shume i njohur,

and I created a big monument for the government.

dhe krijova nje monument te madh per qeverine.

But then I was very disappointed

Por me pas isha shume i zhgenjyer

at my profession as an architect,

me profesionin tim si arkitekt,

because we are not helping, we are not working for society,

sepse ne nuk po ndihmojme, nuk po punojme per shoqerine,

but we are working for privileged people,

por po punojme per njerez te privilegjuar,

rich people, government, developers.

te pasur, qeverine, zhvillues.

They have money and power.

Ata kane para dhe fuqi.

Those are invisible.

Keto jane te padukshme.

So they hire us to visualize their power and money

Keshtu qe ata na punesojne ne per te nxjerre ne dukje fuqine dhe parate

by making monumental architecture.

duke krijuar arkitekture monumentale.

That is our profession, even historically it's the same,

Ky eshte profesioni yne, edhe historikisht eshte e njejta,

even now we are doing the same.

edhe tani po bejme te njejten gje.

So I was very disappointed that we are not working for society,

Pra isha shume i zhgenjyer qe nuk po punonim per shoqerine,

even though there are so many people

edhe pse ka shume njerez

who lost their houses by natural disasters.

qe kane humbur shtepite e tyre nga katastrofa natyrale.

But I must say they are no longer natural disasters.

Por me duhet te them se nuk jane me katastrofat natyrale.

For example, earthquakes never kill people,

Per shembull, termetet nuk vrasin kurre njerez,

but collapse of the buildings kill people.

eshte shembja e ndertesave ajo qe vret njerezit.

That's the responsibility of architects.

Kjo eshte pergjegjesia e arkitekteve.

Then people need some temporary housing,

Me pas njerezit kane nevoje per strehim te perkohshem,

but there are no architects working there

por nuk jane arkitektet qe merren me kete pune

because we are too busy working for privileged people.

sepse ne jemi shume te zene duke punuar per te privilegjuarit.

So I thought, even as architects,

Pra mendova, edhe si arkitekte

we can be involved in the reconstruction of temporary housing.

mund te angazhohemi ne rindertimin e strehimit te perkohshem.

We can make it better.

Ne mund ta permiresojme ate.

So that is why I started working in disaster areas.

Ja pse fillova te punoja ne zonat e shkaterruara.

1994, there was a big disaster in Rwanda, Africa.

Ne 1994, ndodhi nje katastrofe e madhe ne Rwanda, Afrike.

Two tribes, Hutu and Tutsi, fought each other.

Dy fise, Hutu dhe Tutsi, luftonin me njeri tjetrin.

Over two million people became refugees.

Mbi dy milion njerez u kthyen ne refugjate.

But I was so surprised to see the shelter, refugee camp

Por u suprizova shume kur pashe strehimin, kampin e refugjateve

organized by the U.N.

te organizuar nga Kombet e Bashkuara.

They're so poor, and they are freezing

Ata jane shume te varfer dhe po ngrinin se ftohtit

with blankets during the rainy season,

me batanije gjate sezonint te shirave,

In the shelters built by the U.N.,

Ne strehat e ndertuara nga Kombet e Bashkuara,

they were just providing a plastic sheet,

i jepnin thjesht nje mushama,

and the refugees had to cut the trees, and just like this.

dhe refugjateve u duhej te prisnin pemet.

But over two million people cut trees.

Por mendoni mbi dy milion njerez qe presin pemet.

It just became big, heavy deforestation

U kthye ne nje shpyllezim te madh

and an environmental problem.

dhe nje problem ekologjik.

That is why they started providing aluminum pipes, aluminum barracks.

Per kete arsye filluan te sigurojne tuba dhe barraka alumini.

Very expensive, they throw them out for money,

Gjera shume te shtrenjta, qe njerezit i shesin per te fituar para,

then cutting trees again.

dhe fillojne serish te presin pemet.

So I proposed my idea to improve the situation

Ne kete pike propozova idene time per te permiresuar gjendjen

using these recycled paper tubes

duke perdorur tubat e kartonit te ricikluar

because this is so cheap and also so strong,

sepse eshte ekonomik dhe rezistent.

but my budget is only 50 U.S. dollars per unit.

Buxheti im eshte vetem 50 dollare US per njesi.

We built 50 units to do that as a monitoring test

Ndertuam 50 njesi per ta perdorur si test monitorimi

for the durability and moisture and termites, so on.

per rezistencen, lageshtine, termitet dhe te tjera.

And then, year afterward, 1995, in Kobe, Japan,

Dhe me pas, vitin e mepasshem, ne 1995, ne Kobe te Japonise,

we had a big earthquake.

ndodhi nje termet i madh.

Nearly 7,000 people were killed,

Pothuajse 7.000 njerez humben jeten,

and the city like this Nagata district,

dhe nje qyteti si distrikti i Nagata,

all the city was burned in a fire after the earthquake.

u dogj i gjithi ne nje zjarr pas termetit.

And also I found out there's many Vietnamese refugees

Zbulova qe kish shume refugjate Vietnameze

suffering and gathering at a Catholic church --

qe po vuanin e ishin mbledhur ne nje kishe Katolike--

all the building was totally destroyed.

ndertesa e se ciles ishte shkaterruar krejt.

So I went there and also I proposed to the priests,

Shkova atje dhe i propozova prifterinjve,

"Why don't we rebuild the church out of paper tubes?"

"Perse nuk e ndertojme kishen me tuba kartoni?"

And he said, "Oh God, are you crazy?

Nje prift tha, "Oh, Zot, mos je i marre?

After a fire, what are you proposing?"

Cfare propozimi eshte ky pas nje zjarri?"

So he never trusted me, but I didn't give up.

Ai nuk pati kurre besim tek une, por une nuk u dorezova.

I started commuting to Kobe,

Nisa te shkoj e vij ne Kobe,

and I met the society of Vietnamese people.

dhe u takova me komunitetin Vietnamez.

They were living like this with very poor plastic sheets

Ato po jetonin ne kete menyre me disa mushama shume te lira

in the park.

ne nje park.

So I proposed to rebuild. I raised -- did fundraising.

Keshtu une propozova te rindertoj. Pervesha menget dhe ngrita fonde.

I made a paper tube shelter for them,

Krijova nje strehimore me tuba kartoni per ta,

and in order to make it easy to be built by students

dhe ne menyre qe te ishte e lehte per ta ndertuar nga studentet

and also easy to demolish,

dhe gjithashtu e lehte per ta prishur,

I used beer crates as a foundation.

perdora arka birre si themel.

I asked the Kirin beer company to propose,

I kerkova kompanise se birres Kirin,

because at that time, the Asahi beer company

sepse ne ate kohe, kompania e birres Asahi

made their plastic beer crates red,

i kish bere te kuqe arkat e birres,

which doesn't go with the color of the paper tubes.

qe nuk shkon me ngjyren e tubave te kartonit.

The color coordination is very important.

Koordinimi i ngjyrave eshte shume i rendesishem.

And also I still remember, we were expecting

Dhe mbaj mend qe ne prisnim

to have a beer inside the plastic beer crate,

te kishte nje birre brenda arkes plastike,

but it came empty. (Laughter)

por ja qe na erdhi bosh. (Te qeshura)

So I remember it was so disappointing.

Mbaj mend qe ky cast ishte zhgenjyes.

So during the summer with my students,

Gjate veres me studentet e mi,

we built over 50 units of the shelters.

ne ndertuam rreth 50 strehimore.

Finally the priest, finally he trusted me to rebuild.

Ne fund, prifti me ne fund na besoi te rindertojme.

He said, "As long as you collect money by yourself,

Ai tha, "Persa kohe qe fondet e nevojshme i ngre vete,

bring your students to build, you can do it."

dhe sjell studentet e tu per ta ndertuar, mund ta besh."

So we spent five weeks rebuilding the church.

Keshtu, shpenzuam pese jave per te rindertuar kishen.

It was meant to stay there for three years,

Ishte menduar qe te qendronte aty per tre vjet,

but actually it stayed there 10 years because people loved it.

por ne fakt qendroi aty per 10 vjet, sepse njerezit e pelqenin.

Then, in Taiwan, they had a big earthquake,

Nje tjeter termet i forte ndodhi ne Taivan,

and we proposed to donate this church,

dhe propozuam qe ta dhuronim kete kishe,

so we dismantled them,

keshtu qe e cmontuam,

we sent them over to be built by volunteer people.

dhe e derguam atje per ta ndertuar me vullnetare.

It stayed there in Taiwan as a permanent church even now.

Kjo kishe eshte edhe sot ne Tajvan, si kishe e perhershme.

So this building became a permanent building.

Kjo ndertese u kthye ne nje ndertese te perhershme.

Then I wonder, what is a permanent and what is a temporary building?

Po mendoja, c'dallim ka midis nje ndertese te perhershme dhe nje te perkoheshme?

Even a building made in paper

Edhe nje ndertese e bere me karton

can be permanent as long as people love it.

mund te jete e perhershme nese njerezit e pelqejne ate.

Even a concrete building can be very temporary

Bile dhe nje ndertese prej betoni mund te jete shume e perkohshme

if that is made to make money.

nese ka perfitim nga kjo gje.

In 1999, in Turkey, the big earthquake,

Ne 1999, ne Turqi ndodhi nje termet i madh,

I went there to use the local material to build a shelter.

shkova atje per te ndertuar strehimore duke perdorur materiale lokale.

2001, in West India, I built also a shelter.

Ne 2001, ne Indine Perendimore, ndertova po ashtu nje strehe.

In 2004, in Sri Lanka, after the Sumatra earthquake

Ne 2004, ne Sri Lanka, pas termetit dhe cunamit ne Sumatra,

and tsunami, I rebuilt Islamic fishermen's villages.

rindertova fshatra te peshkatareve Islamike.

And in 2008, in Chengdu, Sichuan area in China,

Ne 2008, ne Chengdu, Sichuan te Kines,

nearly 70,000 people were killed,

pothuajse 70.000 njerez humben jeten,

and also especially many of the schools were destroyed

dhe vecanerisht shume shkolla u shkaterruan

because of the corruption between the authority and the contractor.

si rrjedhoje e korrupsionit midis autoriteteve dhe kontraktuesve.

I was asked to rebuild the temporary church.

Mu kerkua te rindertoj nje kishe te perkoheshme.

I brought my Japanese students to work with the Chinese students.

Solla studentet e mi japoneze per te punuar me studentet kineze.

In one month, we completed nine classrooms,

Ne nje muaj, perfunduam nente dhoma mesimi,

over 500 square meters.

rreth 500 metra katrore.

It's still used, even after the current earthquake in China.

Ende perdoret, edhe pas termetit te fundit ne Kine.

In 2009, in Italy, L'Aquila, also they had a big earthquake.

Ne 2009, ne L'Aquila te Italise ndodhi nje termet i madh.

And this is a very interesting photo:

Kjo eshte nje foto mjaft interesante:

former Prime Minister Berlusconi

ish Kryeministri Berlusconi

and Japanese former former former former Prime Minister Mr. Aso --

dhe ish ish ish Kryeministri japonez Mr. Aso--

you know, because we have to change the prime minister ever year.

kjo sepse ne na duhet te nderrojme Kryeminister cdo vit.

And they are very kind, affording my model.

Te dy premtuan qe do te perkrahnin modelin tim.

I proposed a big rebuilding, a temporary music hall,

Propozova nje rindertim te madh, nje salle koncertesh te perkohshme,

because L'Aquila is very famous for music

pasi l'Aquilla eshte teper e njohur per muzike

and all the concert halls were destroyed,

dhe te gjitha sallat e koncerteve ishin shkaterruar,

so musicians were moving out.

dhe muzikantet po largoheshin.

So I proposed to the mayor,

I propozova Kryebashkiakut,

I'd like to rebuild the temporary auditorium.

rindertimin e perkohshem te auditoriumit.

He said, "As long as you bring your money, you can do it."

Ai tha, "Persa kohe qe e ben me parate e tua, jam dakort."

And I was very lucky.

Dhe une isha mjaft me fat.

Mr. Berlusconi brought G8 summit,

Mr. Berlusconi solli samitin e G8,

and our former prime minister came,

dhe ish Kryeministri Japonez erdhi,

so they helped us to collect money,

dhe na ndihmuan per te ngritur fondet e nevojshme.

and I got half a million euros from the Japanese government

Une arrita te marr 500 mije euro nga qeveria Japoneze

to rebuild this temporary auditorium.

per te ringritur kete auditor te perkohshem.

Year 2010 in Haiti, there was a big earthquake,

Ne vitin 2010 ne Haiti ndodhi nje tjeter termet i madh,

but it's impossible to fly over,

por eshte e pamundur te shkosh me avion atje.

so I went to Santo Domingo, next-door country,

Keshtuqe une shkova ne vendin fqinj ne Santo Domingo,

to drive six hours to get to Haiti

dhe mu deshen 6 ore me makine per te arritur ne Haiti.

with the local students in Santo Domingo

Ne bashkepunim me studentet e Santo Domingos

to build 50 units of shelter out of local paper tubes.

ndertuam 50 strehimore me tuba kartoni te gjetura ne vend.

This is what happened in Japan two years ago, in northern Japan.

Kjo ishte ajo qe ndodhi ne veriun e Japonise para dy vjetesh.

After the earthquake and tsunami,

Pas termetit dhe cunamit,

people had to be evacuated in a big room like a gymnasium.

njerezit u evakuuan ne nje palester te madhe.

But look at this. There's no privacy.

Por shiheni kete. Ketu nuk ka fare privatesi.

People suffer mentally and physically.

Njerezit vuajne menderisht dhe fizikisht.

So we went there to build partitions

Ne vajtem atje per te ndertuar panele ndarese me tuba kartoni

with all the student volunteers with paper tubes,

me punen vullnetare te studenteve.

just a very simple shelter out of the tube frame and the curtain.

Nje strehimoreze shume e thjeshte e krijuar me tuba kartoni dhe perde.

However, some of the facility authority

Megjithate, disa nga autoritetet e qendres

doesn't want us to do it, because, they said,

nuk deshen qe ne te benim dicka te tille.

simply, it's become more difficult to control them.

Sipas tyre do te ishte shume e veshtire per ti kontrolluar njerezit.

But it's really necessary to do it.

Por ishte me te vertete e nevojshme ta beje nje gje te tille.

They don't have enough flat area to build

Atje nuk kishte hapesire te mjaftueshme per te ndertuar

standard government single-story housing like this one.

shtepi standarte nje kateshe si kjo ketu.

Look at this. Even civil government is doing

Shiheni kete. Ndertimet qe po ben qeveria

such poor construction of the temporary housing,

ne shtepite e perkohshme, jane kaq te dobta,

so dense and so messy because there is no storage, nothing, water is leaking,

kaq te dendura dhe te rremujshme sepse ska hapsire fare dhe qe u pikon uje.

so I thought, we have to make multi-story building

Mendova qe na duhet te bejme nje ndertese shume kateshe

because there's no land and also it's not very comfortable.

pasi kerkon me pak toke dhe eshte me komode.

So I proposed to the mayor while I was making partitions.

Keshtuqe i propozova kryebashkiakut ne kohen kur po beja panelet ndares.

Finally I met a very nice mayor in Onagawa village

Me ne fund takova nje Kryebashkiak te sjellshem ne fshatin e Onagawa

in Miyagi.

ne Miyagi.

He asked me to build three-story housing on baseball [fields].

Ai me kerkoi qe te ndertonim shtepi 3 kateshe ne fushat e bejzbollit.

I used the shipping container

Perdora kontejneret e transportit

and also the students helped us to make

dhe gjithashtu studentet me ndihmuan

all the building furniture

te ndertonim mobiljet

to make them comfortable,

per ti bere banesat te rehatshme,

within the budget of the government

dhe ne buxhetin e qeverise,

but also the area of the house is exactly the same,

duke e mbajtur siperfaqen e shtepive te njejta

but much more comfortable.

por shume me teper te rehatshme.

Many of the people want to stay here forever.

Shume prej atyre njerezve vendosen te jetojne aty perhere.

I was very happy to hear that.

Isha shume i lumtur ta degjoja kete gje.

Now I am working in New Zealand, Christchurch.

Tani jam duke punuar ne Zelanden e Re, ne Christchurch.

About 20 days before the Japanese earthquake happened,

Rreth 20 dite me pare se te ndodhte termeti ne Japoni,

also they had a big earthquake,

edhe ata paten nje termet te madh,

and many Japanese students were also killed,

ku humben jeten shume studente japoneze,

and the most important cathedral of the city,

dhe katedralja me e madhe e qytetit,

the symbol of Christchurch, was totally destroyed.

simboli i Christchursh, ishte plotesisht e shkaterruar.

And I was asked to come to rebuild the temporary cathedral.

Mua mu kerkua te rindertoja katedralen e perkoheshme.

So this is under construction.

Keshtu duket ne ndertm e siper.

And I'd like to keep building monuments

Dhe do te me pelqente te vazhdoja te ndertoja monumente

that are beloved by people.

qe jane te dashura per njerezit,

Thank you very much.

Falemnderit shume.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

Thank you. (Applause)

Faleminderit. (Duartrokitje)

Thank you very much. (Applause)

Faleminderit Shume. (Duartrokitje)