Princess of Asturias Award for Concord 2022 is for the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban (Tokyo, 1957), known for using unusual materials such as paper or cardboard in his buildings and for his “solidarity architecture” for the homeless. 36 candidates from 17 different countries applied for the award.

Shigeru Ban He is the founder of the Volunteer Architects Network (VAN), a non-governmental organization with which he has built homes in disaster-affected areas in Haiti, Japan, China, India, Turkey, Italy and the Philippines. Ban sees architecture as a way to improve society and has made building with affordable materials his calling card.

The Princess of Concorda, presented last year to chef José Andrés and his non-governmental organization World Central Kitchen (WCK), is the latest of eight awards given annually by the Princess of Asturias Foundation to be presented in October in Oviedo. .