Bench and Folding Screen, Carta
- Designed by
- Shigeru Ban (born 1957)
- Material
- Cardboard tubes, plywood, fabric
- Produced by
- Cappellini S.p.A., Milan, Italy
- Dimensions
- Bench: 37 x 185 x 60 cm; Screen: 180 x 247 x 4.5 cm
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, gift of the manufacturer, 2001.44–45
Ban is a Japanese architect known for his innovative socially aware designs, especially housing that can be quickly, easily and inexpensively assembled where needed. His most famous endeavor was to house the victims of the 1995 earthquake that destroyed Kobe, Japan, for which he created the Paper Log House.
Even for his humanitarian projects, Ban wanted to “create beautiful buildings” and preserve the environment. Waterproofed, durable tubes of cardboard are characteristic in his buildings and furniture, as seen in this bench and folding screen, two of the seven designs in the Carta series, which uses the natural and biodegradable materials of paper and wood.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, photo: Denis Farley.