Born in Tokyo in 1957, Shigeru Ban (1957) attended Southern California Institute of Architecture and Cooper Union School of Architecture, graduating in 1984 while working for Arata Isozaki.
In 1985 he opened his own practice in Tokyo and began an intense designing, teaching and scientific career.
For five years he was an external faculty member at the Architecture Faculty of Yokohama National University, and for four years at the Architecture Faculty of Nihon University. He is a visiting professor at Columbia University and an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (HFAIA) and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (HRAIC). He has taught at Kyoto University of Art and Design since 2011.
In 1995 he founded the NGO Voluntary Architects' Network (VAN).
He has won numerous awards over the years, including the Ordre national du Merite, the Urban Land Institute Awards for Excellence (finalist for Kirinda Project, Sri Lanka) and the World Architecture Awards 2002 (Best House in the World, Naked House). Exhibitions featuring his work have been held in Japan, the United States and Europe: in 2013 the exhibition “Shigeru Ban. Architecture and Humanitarian Activities” was held at the Art Tower in Mito, Japan.
Winner of the 2014 Pritzker Prize.