Shigeru Ban is an accomplished Japanese architect, mostly renowned for his innovative work with paper, particularly recycled cardboard paper tubes used to quickly and efficiently house disaster victims.
Shigeru Ban was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1957. He studied at the Southern California Institute of Architecture and later went on to Cooper Union's School of Architecture where he studied under John Hejduk before graduating in 1984. Hejduk was a part of the New York Five and from him, Ban not only learned fundamental elements of architecture, but also gained an interest in "architectonic poetics" or the creation of three-dimensional poetry.
For Ban, one of the most important themes in his work is the "invisible structure". That is, he does not overly express his structural elements, but rather chooses to incorporate them into the designs. Ban is not interested in the newest materials and techniques, but rather the expression of the concept behind his creations. He deliberately chooses materials to further this expression.
He was the first architect in Japan to construct a building primarily out of paper and required special approval for his building to pass Japan’s building code. Ban himself quotes: "I don't like waste," summing up his philosophy and practice, known as "Paper Architecture".
Through his firm, Shigeru Ban Architects, he has created revolutionary architectural designs such as the Curtain Wall House and the Nicolas G. Hayek Center in Tokyo, the Japanese Exhibition hall at Expo 2000 in Hannover, and the Centre Pompidou-Metz in France. He has worked as a consultant for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, founding the NGO Voluntary Architects' Network at the same time. For over two decades he has been involved in innovative techniques of fast and cheap temporary shelter building. His approach, using existing paper material, was used in the Rwanda refugee crisis and in earthquake disaster zones in Japan, Turkey, Italy, Haiti, Sri Lanka and China.
In 2014, Ban was named the 37th recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the most prestigious prize in modern architecture. The Pritzker Jury cited Ban for his innovative use of material and his dedication to humanitarian efforts around the world, calling him "a committed teacher who is not only a role model for younger generations, but also an inspiration."
FontanaArte
In 1881, Luigi Fontana starts his business in Milan, manufacturing float glass for the construction industry. As the century draws to a close, the company is producing refined bespoke and one-off glass furnishing accessories.
In 1931 the architect, designer and founding editor of Domus magazine, Gio Ponti is invited to take over the company’s art direction. Several of the pieces he designs for FontanaArte are still in production, including the 0024 Suspension, Bilia, Pirellina, and Pirellone lamps, and the Tavolino 1932 coffee table.
In the mid-thirties, Gio Ponti decides it’s time to give a boost to Luigi Fontana’s line of prestigious furnishing accessories and invites Pietro Chiesa to join him in the art direction.
Chiesa is a distinguished master glazier who enlists the craftsmen from his own workshop to join him. It is a short leap to the launch of FontanaArte, a new division with a mission to develop products with a more artisanal feel, ranging from stained glass to limited series of furnishing and lighting accessories.
As the years roll by, Pietro Chiesa plays a key role in the company as his creative verve offers ample proof that he is a versatile master of vast cultural and technical expertise. He designs over a thousand different pieces, some of which make design history and which remain in production today, including the 1932 curved-glass Fontana table, the Cartoccio vase (1932), and the Luminator floor lamp (1933).
In the mid-Fifties French master glazier and decorator Max Ingrand, renowned for his stunning stained-glass church windows, is invited to the art direction team. He takes the company towards more intensely industrial production but always keeping the craftsmen in his sights.
In the seventies, Architect Gae Aulenti, who had already worked with the company in the past, becomes another leading light in the corporate renewal process.
Her first move was to makeover the collection, personally designing lamps and furnishing accessories that are still in the catalogue. At the same time she recruited a team of young contributors, validating the corporate mission to scout talent and acknowledging the importance of various strategic communication levers.
FontanaArte’s legendary success is forever linked to Ponti, Chiesa, Ingrand and Aulenti, but also to its reliance on prestigious partnerships, initiating in winning alliances with internationally renowned architects or emerging young talents who all have contributed to what is a phantasmagorical collection in many ways: lighting with personality inspired by established styling.
Floor lamp
Metal base in black finish, black composite frame with carbon fibre coating
SPECIFICATIONS
Diameter 50cm, length 250cm, height 210cm
With dimmer
Black electric cord
170 x 18W integrated LED 2300K
Bulbs included
Made in Italy
Shipping
4-5 weeks
Standard Shipping
€ 190,00
"White Glove" Delivery
€ 290,00
Quantity
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