Recovery from a large natural disaster cannot be achieved without the support of an entire community. When an earthquake struck Kobe, Japan Jan. 17, 1995, 70 percent of houses in the Nagata area of the city were destroyed, and those who survived were desperate for help.
After he saw locals praying in the ruined Takatori church, Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, a resident of Tokyo, decided to devote himself to reconstruction of the area. To help the congregation of the church, Ban proposed to build a new structure made of paper, an architectural technique for which he has won international recognition.
In response to Ban's appeal for donations to construct the new church, contributions soon reached US$100,000, and volunteers flooded in to help with the construction work. Eight months after the earthquake, the paper church was completed with the help of some 160 volunteers. The structure's 58 paper tubes, each measuring 325 millimeters in diameter and 5 meters high, were put together in the shape of a dome.
Although designed primarily as a temporary house of worship, the paper structure also functioned as a community center, enabling Nagata residents to rediscover a sense of belonging. The church offered assistance to those rebuilding their homes, regardless of their religious belief or nationality.
After 10 years of helping the people of Nagata along the road to recovery, the paper church was disassembled in June 2005, as it had become too small for the growing congregation. But when Liao Chia-chan, chairman of Taiwan's New Homeland Foundation, learned that the dome would be taken down, he knew just what to do. "I thought such a meaningful piece of architecture should have a second life in Taomi Eco Village, in Puli Township of Nantou County, a place damaged by an earthquake like that in Kobe," Liao said.
The massive earthquake hit Taomi Village hard Sept. 21, 1999, and in the aftermath locals desperately tried to cope with the area's damaged infrastructure. The village's economy, mostly based on agriculture and winemaking, also suffered a tremendous blow. Taomi Village officials sought help from the NHF, and together they started to rebuild and to remold the village into a more sustainable community.
"The shared experience of recovering from the shock of the earthquake and constructing a better home made people living in this small town of central Taiwan and those in Kobe feel as if they were working shoulder to shoulder," Liao said. "And there is no better symbol of friendship than the paper dome."
In 2005, all the components of the church were sent to Taiwan, and reconstruction work got underway in November 2006. Jay Chiu, the Taiwanese architect who designed the Sept. 21 earthquake memorial park, was placed in charge of the reassembly project. Chiu was also commissioned to design a community center to be located next to the dome.
Chiu worked with Ban to restore the structure to its original condition. As for the design of the community center, Chiu made use of steel, but added twists and turns to the beams. "I wanted to form an interesting contrast between the center and the dome ... between softened steel and hardened paper," the architect said.
Although the two structures were built according to different aesthetic philosophies, they represent the links between architects in Taiwan and Japan and their respective efforts to rebuild communities devastated by earthquakes.
The paper dome and the new community center were unveiled to the public Sept. 21, the ninth anniversary of the Nantou County earthquake. Both Chiu and Ban attended the opening ceremony, celebrating the new life of the structure and the community.
"The rebirth of paper dome was the result of many people's effort," Liao said. "Through this piece of architecture, we hope to rebuild the connection between people and communities, as well as walk further down the road to recovery."
Write to Amber Wu at amber0207@mail.gio.gov.tw