日本建筑师坂茂（Shigeru Ban）催生了世界首例的「纸的建築」，坂茂还將其应用在阪神地震后搭建的临时建筑及恆久建築物上。
一九八六年，从美国留学归国的坂茂，在Alvar Aalto特展的会场设计，因为经费有限，无法使用芬兰最具代表性的建筑师Aalto爱用的木材，他以纸管作为展馆的內墙、天花板及展示台，這次的经验，让坂茂意外发现纸管的强度远超过想像，进而孕育「纸建筑」的创作原点。
一九八九年，名古屋设计博览会馆，展馆虽不大，但却让坂茂首次实现纸建筑的梦想，他以四十八支外径三十三公分、厚度十五公厘、長度四公尺，表面经过蜡纸防水加工的紙管，重现江戶時代造园名家所设计用來欣赏水琴窟的东屋。
这座纸建筑，白天里，一束束屋外的光线透过纸管间的空隙照射屋內，入夜之后，建筑物本身就像一座大型灯具，朝向四面八方射出四十八条灿烂的光束。
二○○○年德国汉诺威万国博览会占地五千平方公尺的日本馆，坂茂采用纸建筑，让世人重新评价我们身旁熟悉的素材，发挥纸柔软的特性，创造出美观、坚固而低环境负担的新可能性。
坂茂不仅在建筑上有杰出的表现，也是一位人道主义者，曾任联合国难民高等委员会(UNHCR)顾问的他曾说过：「二十世纪的建筑大师为大众建造公共建筑，而冷战后一代的建筑师应该为少数人服务，例如种族冲突的受害者和无家可归的人。
」表现在行动上，他运用纸建材轻巧、组装迅速的特质，为阪神大地震的災民设计纸教堂及临时房屋，也为非洲庐安达难民搭蓋避难所及住家；「纸建筑」在他的理念中，已不单纯是一种结合高科技的创作，更深含对人类社会的关怀与责任。
PAPER ARBOR - Nagoya, Japan, 1989This was the first in a series of paper tube constructions. Manufactured as form. work for circular concrete columns, the tubes are used structurally here. Forty-eight of these tubes (325mm in diameter, 15mm thick and 4m high) are treated with paraffin water-proofing and fitted onto a precast concrete base in a circle.总共有48根纸管（直径325，15厚，4米高）被插入混凝土现浇的圆形基础中。
These were stiffened with a glue compound 胶合物and joined at their heads by a wooden compression ring. Theroof consisted of tenting fabric hung from tension wire arranged in a spoke-like configuration. After the structure was dismantled, the strength of the paper tubes was analyzed. Despite being subject to six months of wind and rain, the hardening of the glue and moderate exposure to ultraviolet rays 紫外线actually resulted in increasing the compressive strength of the tubes.ODAWARA HALL AND EAST GATE- Odawara, Kanagawa, Japan,1990To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Odawara municipality, the local government commissioned a temporary multi-purpose hall. The mayor wanted a wooden building at first, but, in light of the budget and time limit, it was suggested that the hall be constructed of paper tubes and the tubes themselves be viewed as an “evolved wood.”进化的木。
Since the scale of the building far exceeds that of the Paper Arbor which was built a year earlier, a special building permit was required before construction could begin. However, the construction period did not allow enough time for permit process, so the paper tubes are used in the self-standing exterior and interior walls (and could withstand wind pressure only) 通过纸管来充当外墙和内墙并抵挡风压and columns of steel were used to support the roof 由钢柱支撑屋顶. The interior space of about 1300 square meters was composed of 330 paper tubes (525mm in diameter, 15mm thick, and 8m long). The spaces between the tubes were filled with clear vinyl tubing to filter natural light.纸管间填充透光的乙烯基管状材料。
One large paper tube with a diameter of 1.2 m as a restroom.一个巨大的直径为1.2米的纸管充当休息室。
LIBRARY OF A POET- Zushi, Kanagawa, Japan, 1991This library was built as an annex to a house I had previously expanded previously expanded and improved. The project was influenced by the Odawara Pavilion, which the owner had seen. He felt that a paper library would be best suited to house paper books. A variation of the paper tube truss 纸管束used in the East Gate at Odawara was used here. The tubes used in the library were 100mm in diameter and 12mm thick,用于书房的纸管直径为100，12厚。
slightly smaller than those used at Odawara, but similarly, post-tensioned steel wires承担后张力的铁丝were used for the spanning sections. Where steel angles were used to form. the joints at Odawara, 38 square mm timber pieces were employed for the library. The four floor to ceiling bookshelves along the sides of the room are structurally independent of the paper tubes and are cantilevered off the floor, 书架与主结构桁架系统是独立的，absorbing the horizontal load. The bookshelves, which contain insulating material and have an exterior finish, were fabricated separately at a factory.MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIO GALLERY - Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, 1994Zoning laws necessitated a fire-resistant external wall in order to use paper tubes as the primary structure.将纸管作为主要结构，对防火区的划定是重要的。
The paper tubes take the vertical loads. Thus the intersection of the paper tubes and the floor has been designed very simply to avoid slippage. 纸管承担竖向荷载，因此在纸管交叉处以及在与地面的连接处被特殊处理以避免滑移。
The building's plan, a 16.5 by 5.2m rectangle, is based upon the Grecian agora 希腊的集会市场- a space created simply by columns and shade. The outer row of paper tubes cast striped shadows across the floor, which change during the day, and provide a sense of animation. The ceiling casts a curved shadow on the paper tube and chairs were created specifically for this space.PAPER HOUSE - Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi, Japan, 1995An S-shape configuration comprised of 110 paper tubes (2.7m high, 275mm in diameter and 148mm thick) defines the interior and exterior areas of the paper house. This was the first project in which paper tubes were authorized for use as a structural basis in a permanent building. 这是第一例将纸管结构用于永久性的建筑。
