Q&A with Japanese Architect Shigeru Ban

Whether he’s drawing up world-class public architecture, like France’s Centre Pompidou–Metz, or temporary disaster housing ingeniously constructed from cardboard tubes and beer crates, architect Shigeru Ban never loses his focus on innovative, logical design. "I don’t take a different approach depending on the project I’m working on," says Ban, who has offices in Tokyo, Paris, and New York. He has recently been working on prefab housing, lowering costs and eliminating wasted space by using factory-made storage units (in his parlance, furniture) as structural support. The Japanese brand Muji will begin selling his kit house in 2014.