Tokyo-based Mr Ban has earned a reputation for his use of cardboard – because it is recyclable and surprisingly strong – for large buildings.

After the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck the Japanese city of Kobe in 1995, he built a church made of cardboard tubes, while another of his creations is being erected close to the northern Japan city of Sendai to accommodate people who lost their homes in the March earthquake and tsunami.

The material is treated to ensure that it is weatherproof and fireproof.