The Paper Concert Hall, which opened in May, in Aquila, Italy is a gift from the Japanese government to the earthquake-ravished region.

This temporary structure is a symbol of solidarity and support from one country to another, where both have experienced the devastation of an earthquake recently.

Having executed many post-disaster activities around the world, Shigeru Ban was the ideal architect for the job. The concert hall covers an area of 3000 square metres, which includes classrooms.

Some 44 encompassing pillars and a pitched roof form the structure of the concert hall while a skewed oval cuts through the interior volume. With 230 seats the significance of the structure lies in that it can easily be dismantled and built elsewhere. The 700 square metre structure is composed of steel, cardboard concrete and clay sacks, materials Ban is well known for using.

More than 30% of the Aquila’s population are students at Aquila University or the Conservatory of Music. Ban’s temporary Concert Paper Hall thus provides a solution to the destruction of their concert hall (a renovated old church) in the earthquake.

The Paper Concert Hall will be used for lectures, symposiums and public events.