Shigeru Ban Architects has released photos of the architect’s response to the humanitarian crisis plaguing Turkey following the 7.8 earthquake that destroyed over 160,000 structures while claiming the lives of more than 50,000 people there and in Syria on February 6th.

The firm had previously been on the ground since March working through its Voluntary Architects Network (or VAN) nonprofit arm to construct shelters using their patented Paper Partition System that was first utilized in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake in Japan.

The system works by first constructing a system of 2x2-meter paper tubes, over which fabric privacy curtains can be installed.

Now, three months removed from the disaster, an effort is underway to build temporary housing using what it says are new prototype designs that improve upon the Paper Log House Ban first debuted following the 1995 Kobe earthquake and later, also in Turkey, in reaction to the devastating İzmit earthquake there in 1999.

As many as 2.7 million people have been displaced internally throughout Turkey as a result of the earthquake, which critically struck at the country’s network residential infrastructure that had for years been allowed to be developed using substandard seismic codes opponents claim the embattled President Recep Erdoğan’s administration had done away with via “building amnesties” following his successful 2018 election. 

Turkey's Middle East Technical University (METU) is playing host to its construction via its Emergency Design Studio. 

“This building we designed for the earthquake zone centered in Kahramanmaraş is a completely new project," Ban explained to a local outlet during his site visit last month. "First of all, we think that this house can be more permanent, while the projects were designed as temporary shelter. We created a design where people can live as long as they need in this building. The designs of the building belong to me. I also have a prototype of the design."

“The construction of the house includes a process such as preparing all the materials in 10 days and building it in 3 days, even for those who do not know about these structures. After mastering the materials and design, the installation of the structure can be completed in one day. The paper tube house is both functional and economical."

"I made it with the students at my own university in Japan. Since we can’t find the same materials used in Japan in Turkey, we were in contact with the METU students while doing it, and together we figured out how they could produce it using local materials and what kind of materials could produce this design. It is very strong, very well made, and a very beautiful structure," he added.

A video of the prototype's construction can be viewed below.