A disaster-response chapel built from paper tubes—proof that ‘temporary’ can be the most memorable form.
Church.
Featured in Shigeru Ban's definitive monograph, Shigeru Ban: Complete Works 1985–Today.
Visitor Guide
If you’re visiting as a pilgrim, remember the original paper church was dismantled and relocated; what you’re seeing now is about lineage and narrative as much as matter.
Best shot is a tight angle that catches the rhythm of tubes (mid-morning for soft interior light through openings).
Access depends on church hours and events; this project is historically tied to the 1995 temporary paper-tube structure.
The nerd detail: paper tubes weren’t symbolism—they were a structural and logistical choice (light, cheap, quickly assembled, surprisingly strong in compression when detailed correctly).
30–60 min
Design & Structure
Designed as rapid-deploy architecture: modular paper-tube members, simple joints, and community buildability; engineered for speed, cost, and dignity.
Paper tubes + timber/steel connectors; materiality matters because it reframes ‘low-tech’ as high-performance under constraints.
Engineering brilliance is in making cardboard behave like a reliable structural system through detailing and redundancy.
See Together
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed Takatori Catholic Church?+
Takatori Catholic Church was designed by Shigeru Ban. It is located in Nagata-ku, Japan.
Where is Takatori Catholic Church located?+
Takatori Catholic Church is located in Nagata-ku, Japan. Its coordinates are 34.6492°, 135.1400°.
Can I visit Takatori Catholic Church?+
Takatori Catholic Church is a real building in Nagata-ku that can be viewed from the outside. Check local information for interior access and visiting hours. Use the Parametric Atlas walking tour feature to plan a route that includes this building.